(director: John Andreas Andersen; screenwriter: Eriend Loe, original script by Espen Lauritzen von Ibenfeldt, based on the book “No. 24”, written by Petter Ringen Johannessen and Arnfinn Moland; cinematographer: PaL Ulvik Rokseth; editors: Trude Lirhus, Kalle Doniselli Gulbrandsen; music: Kristoffer Lo; cast: Mark Noble (John Skinner Wilson), Lisa Loven Kongsli (Gudrun Collett), August Wittgenstein (Siegfried Fehmer), Ines Hoysæter Asserson (Reidun), Sjur Vatne Brean (Gunnar Sønsteby), Flo Fagerli (Anne Solheim), Erik Hivju (Gunnar Sønsteby, the older), Jakob Maanum Trulsen (Karl Erling Solheim); Runtime: 111; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Espen Horn, Terje Stromstad, John M. Jacobsen, Kristian Strand Sinkerud; Netflix; 2024-Norway-in Norwegian with English subtitles)
“Honors Norway’s greatest war hero.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Norwegian filmmaker John Andreas Andersen (“The Burning Sea”/”The Quake”), known for disaster films, efficiently directs this risk-free war drama period piece. It’s a true story of the Norwegian World War II resistance fighter Gunnar “Kjakan” Sønsteby (Sjur Vatne Brean), that’s written by Eriend Loe and is based on an original script by Espen Lauritzen von Ibenfeldt and on the book “No. 24” by Petter Ringen Johannessen and Arnfinn Moland.
“No. 24” was one of Sønsteby’s code names. Sjur Vatne Brean played him as a young man and Erik Hivju as the old Sønsteby seen in the present lecturing students.
The story is framed around the old Gunnar Sønsteby giving a lecture on the war to students in his home town of Rjukan. We thereby follow the story through his POV, as it honors Norway’s greatest war hero. The story veers back and forth between the lecture and the war.
We follow the 22-year-old Gunnar go from being an anonymous auditor’s assistant in Oslo to becoming one of the country’s most wanted saboteurs when the Nazis occupy his country. He leads the so-called ragtag Oslo gang through several dangerous actions and liquidations of both German and Norwegian Nazis.
At the lecture Gunnar answers questions from students in the audience like Anne (Flo Fagerli), who ask about his many assassinations, bombings of weapon factories and his tight escapes. They want him to explain how he feels about killing so many people. We get a picture of him as an unremarkable man who did remarkable things in a quiet way.
A minimalist musical score from some English groups accompanies the film. There’s a beautifully haunting set of scenes set to ‘Exit Music’ by Radiohead.
The visuals look great, the acting is fine, and the war drama feels realistic as it’s set in Norway. It’s a solid film that offers a fair portrayal of Gunnar Sønsteby’s life.
REVIEWED ON 1/7/2025 GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com