TV Guide: July 22, the day 69 children were murdered

The film "Utøya 22 July" is lauded as a cinematic achievement for its stark, documentary-style reconstruction of the 2011 massacre. Shot in a single take, the film plunges viewers into the horrific events of July 22, 2011, on the island of Utøya.

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In one single frame, the reconstruction of the murder of sixty-nine members of the Norwegian Social Democratic Party's youth wing is a cinematic achievement that shakes with the sharpness of documentary naturalism.

Approximately 500 young people, including sisters Kaja and Emilie, gathered for a summer camp. Their carefree gathering was shattered by Anders Behring Breivik, who had previously planted a bomb in Oslo's city center. Breivik then systematically targeted the unsuspecting children and teenagers with a semi-automatic rifle.

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The carefree gathering with peers unexpectedly turned into a cold-blooded massacre.

Breivik received a 21-year prison sentence in August 2012. His attempts at early release have been unsuccessful, with his latest bid for parole rejected in 2024. The film, directed by Erik Poppe, stars Andrea Berntzen and Aleksander Holmen, among others, and is classified as a thriller with a runtime of 95 minutes.

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The unsuspecting children and teenagers became targets of a killer armed with a semi-automatic rifle, who had recently planted a bomb in the center of Oslo.