El atentado del siglo: Utøya

This movie really allows you to sink into the movie and get a feel for the vibe that was there when it really happened.

The movie is shot in 1 take, no scene cuts.

The young actors impressed with powerful performances worth of recognition.

All in all the movie succeeded in portraying the horror that was 22. Juli, 2011.

How do I even begin to explain my feelings about this movie. It´s a really really good movie. Just the way it is shot and made, the actors, the feeling you get as a audience, is just breathtaking. As a person that hasn´t lost anyone in the shooting that day, this movie made me care about the lead role, Kaja (Andrea Berntzen). I felt desperate, and helpless since I couldn´t intervene and help out. Not to say for certain, but that is probably what many felt when they were running for their lives.

Eirik Poppe made this movie all about "Kaja" and her mission on finding her sister. It is based on true stories that has been told by the youth that were there, which gives the movie a more believable plot that strikes where it hurts. The movie is a one-take film that lasts as long as the attack did in real life, and that gives a you another perspective on how long it took for the help to come.

I just wanted the movie to end after a little while to be honest, because the movie just really struck me and it got too real at times. This is not a movie I would recommend to everyone. If you want to watch it, just remember that this all happened for real. You might not be as tough as you think, I know I was certainly wrong about that. If you were there or have experienced something like that before, I would not recommend you seeing it, but of course you should decide that for yourself. Don´t get me wrong, this is a really good reminder of what happened 7 years ago and how it all went down, and I totally understand why this movie was made, but there is no way for me to say that this movie didn´t make me feel bad. It made me feel like shit, and nauseous all at once.

It was very heavy to watch. You get a look at the reality, what really happend. And you get to follow a caracter and see the panic that happend when all the shooting startet.

Excellent and disturbing description of the attacks on Norway students on the island Utoya in July 2011. The film is told out of the perspective of a fictional victim of the attack and follows the circumstances and 72 minute crisis in real time. The magic of the film is that its done as a one-shot piece . The camera hectically follows the victims. This gives you the impression to be in the middle of everything and offers the film a very authentic touch. You really feel like you are in the middle of everything and just like those students captured on the island. The film works because it portrays fear with its deepest core. The characters more and more become hopeless and so does the audience. You never know where the attacker is you never know who his next victims will be. The acting is very good, especially by the lead actress Andrea Berentzen who brilliantly portrays Kaja. The characters are fictional but they are based on the true stories of the survivors. It is creepy, it is moving and it is often hard to watch. One person in the cinema fainted. But its an important film because it brings back the memories of this terrible and sick happening. Absolutely worth to see.

I'd already watched Paul Greengrass' film 22 July. Despite Utoya July 22 being about the same atrocity, you could not get 2 different films. Whilst Greengrass gave Brevik a platform and invited viewers to try and comprehend his actions, perhaps in an attempt to learn and move on, Erik Poppe's Utoya instead focuses entirely on the victims - the young Labour Party members camping on the island. In a poignant start to the film, the main lead, Kaja, looks directly into the camera and says "you'll never understand" (it turns out she's talking to her mum on the phone).

There is some debate as to whether either of these films should've been made at all. As harrowing as they are, I think they both have their place in trying to enhance our understanding of the horror of terrorist attacks such as these.

In a very clever piece of technical direction, it looks like the film is shot 'live' in one single take to mirror the horror of the 72 minutes of the young people's terrifying ordeal, whilst Brevik was attacking them.

Did I enjoy the film? No. Am I pleased I watched it? Yes. Would I recommend it? Most certainly. Does it, along with Greengrass' July 22, enhance our understanding? The jury's out. 7 out of ten