Some movies have mass appeal. They have some comedy, some drama, some love, some action. They don't really push any limits, but they're pretty easy to watch. Sometimes, they will be really pretty good, even though they're still mostly just commercial and formulaic. This was not that movie. This movie was hard and brutal and real. There was no comedy. It was all brutality and overcoming it. It rips your heart out and makes you wonder what's wrong with the world, but comes back and shows you what's right in the world.
22 July is about a terrorist strike in Norway. A crazy person was unhappy with the direction of the country and decided to plant a bomb and shoot tons of people. Over 70 were killed that day by one crazed man. This is their story with a focus on the murderer and one of his victims. This young man was shot five times and lost an eye and several fingers. He very nearly died. But he didn't. He fought for his life, and then struggled with facing his attacker in court.
I didn't know what the movie was about before watching it. It was very hard to watch, so I would brace yourself first. The cold calculation of the killer while executing innocents is jarring and brutal. The emotions of the families who have to deal with the tragedy are heart-wrenching. It's a hard movie to watch. But it's really moving and powerful, if you can stomach it.