Utoya - July 22. (15.)
Directed by Erik Poppe
Starring Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Brede Fristad, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne and Sorosh Sadat. In Norwegian with subtitles. 93 mins.
Right from the moment I saw the title I was certain that this was a film I was going to skip. What can be gained from a film recreation of the slaughter of 77 youngsters on a tiny Norwegian island by a right-wing nutcase? Films of recent tragedies, however well-intentioned or however well made, are acts of desecration. Some situations should be left to the imagination, allowed their dignity. But then I found out the whole thing had been filmed in a single take, in the style of Victoria, and I had to see it. It's got a gimmick, so that's alright.
I had anticipated something with the fury and demented focus of the Oscar-winning Holocaust drama, Son Of Saul. Like that film's concentration on a single figure, most of Utøya is the petrified face and running-for-her-life rear view of teenager Kaja (Berntzen.) But for all its realism, the film often plays out like a conventional horror movie. There is the character that falls over and injures her leg. Kaja is desperate to find her younger sister, a motivation tool used to get her to move when she might be better staying still. Characters share secrets when they think they are going to die.
Early on it is very much like a zombie movie in that you are waiting for that moment when normality is stripped away. Like many a zombie movie in this one it comes in the form of people suddenly running past the main protagonist in inexplicable panic. Probably the horror film that it most resembles is The Blair Witch Project in that it involves watching young people running screaming through woodland, fleeing from some noises.
In Peppe's film, the characters are fictionalised but the narrative is based on survivors' statements. His film finds itself stuck in an unseemly contest with 22 July, directed by Paul Greengrass, which is on the Netflix. Greengrass, having also directed United 93 and Bloody Sunday, clearly believes that no atrocity should be left to the imagination. I guess, he sees it as his civic duty to give us preparation for our turn. Despite its title, his film has a much broader scope, focusing on the perpetrator and not just the events of the day.
That the perpetrator isn't named or even fully seen in this film is definitely something to commend it for. But I can remember his name, know why he did it and am grimly aware that, if we're being honest, the whole thing has worked out really well for him, probably better than his wildest dreams. We say we won't let the extremists win, but this is basically a victory lap for him. They are itch we can't stop ourselves scratching, even though it just makes it worse.
Directed by Erik Poppe
Starring Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Brede Fristad, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne and Sorosh Sadat. In Norwegian with subtitles. 93 mins.
Right from the moment I saw the title I was certain that this was a film I was going to skip. What can be gained from a film recreation of the slaughter of 77 youngsters on a tiny Norwegian island by a right-wing nutcase? Films of recent tragedies, however well-intentioned or however well made, are acts of desecration. Some situations should be left to the imagination, allowed their dignity. But then I found out the whole thing had been filmed in a single take, in the style of Victoria, and I had to see it. It's got a gimmick, so that's alright.
I had anticipated something with the fury and demented focus of the Oscar-winning Holocaust drama, Son Of Saul. Like that film's concentration on a single figure, most of Utøya is the petrified face and running-for-her-life rear view of teenager Kaja (Berntzen.) But for all its realism, the film often plays out like a conventional horror movie. There is the character that falls over and injures her leg. Kaja is desperate to find her younger sister, a motivation tool used to get her to move when she might be better staying still. Characters share secrets when they think they are going to die.
Early on it is very much like a zombie movie in that you are waiting for that moment when normality is stripped away. Like many a zombie movie in this one it comes in the form of people suddenly running past the main protagonist in inexplicable panic. Probably the horror film that it most resembles is The Blair Witch Project in that it involves watching young people running screaming through woodland, fleeing from some noises.
In Peppe's film, the characters are fictionalised but the narrative is based on survivors' statements. His film finds itself stuck in an unseemly contest with 22 July, directed by Paul Greengrass, which is on the Netflix. Greengrass, having also directed United 93 and Bloody Sunday, clearly believes that no atrocity should be left to the imagination. I guess, he sees it as his civic duty to give us preparation for our turn. Despite its title, his film has a much broader scope, focusing on the perpetrator and not just the events of the day.
That the perpetrator isn't named or even fully seen in this film is definitely something to commend it for. But I can remember his name, know why he did it and am grimly aware that, if we're being honest, the whole thing has worked out really well for him, probably better than his wildest dreams. We say we won't let the extremists win, but this is basically a victory lap for him. They are itch we can't stop ourselves scratching, even though it just makes it worse.
