Utøya: July 22 (Utøya 22. juli) [Sub: Eng]

"U - July 22" cuts through so much of the contemporary cant around gun violence, around white nationalism, around xenophobia, around the politicization of historical tragedy.

Fortunately, the gimmick pays off more often than not.

"U - July 22" is designed to be as immersive as it is exhausting, and largely succeeds ...

There's no stronger argument against guns than the image of a child dead besides her phone - which rings with the calls of a mother that doesn't know her daughter can't answer anymore. [Full review in Portuguese]

It's so superbly done, you're unlikely ever to want to watch it again.

Emotionally more powerful than Paul Greengrass's wider-ranging July 22 but, arguably, even more pointless.

While visceral in its depiction of the horror that day, it is let down by trite dialogue and one frankly cringeworthy scene.

By focusing on the victims, Poppe allows the audience to empathise with them whilst reducing the murderer to just one brief silhouette.

The characters in the film are fictionalised but based on the accounts of real survivors; fine to protect their identities, but dubious to deliberately twist the narrative to create additional sympathy.

It's a grim, startling, and immersive experience, but without the historical rigour of Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday or the comforting heroics of United 93.

An uncomfortable watch, without a clear moral compass.

Shot on hand-held camera, strong on urgency and terror, the film is a tour de force though it flags slightly in the middle, It has your heart pounding along with the breathless fugitives'.