22 July

Recreating the sweep of history is familiar territory for Oscar®-nominated director Paul Greengrass, who previously made the riveting United 93 and Bloody Sunday (MVFF 2002). This time he applies his visceral immediacy to the aftermath of an attack—that of July 22, 2011, when a right-wing terrorist killed 77 Norwegians, bombing a government building in Oslo before going on a horrific murder spree at a summer youth camp. Democracy steels its resolve to follow the rule of law while reeling from the terrible loss in this drama told in the director’s signature style of naturalistic intimacy. Greengrass follows a recovering youth’s therapy and PTSD, a prime minister urging transparency, and the defense attorney committed to his client’s rights (but not his cause), meticulously entwining these threads to a powerful climax in a story about a nation dedicated to progress in the face of fear and hope in the shadow of hate.