COURAGE, Mark Twain once said, “is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear”.
This pretty much sums up the mental fortitude of one young Norwegian man’s drive to resist the Nazis and set a new course for his future – and the future of his country – on the eve of World War Two.
Directed by John Andreas Andersen, Number 24 is based on the real-life story of Gunnar Sønsteby, one of the Norwegian resistance heroes who played an important role during the Second World War in fighting Nazi occupation.
The most highly decorated hero of the Norwegian resistance during the war, Sønsteby was a renowned master of disguise, forgery, and espionage. He kept the fascist occupiers on their toes during a prolonged sabotage campaign as he took the battle to them in the streets.
Much of his own success, he put down to having a “bland face”, but despite never being arrested by the Germans, he always carried a hand grenade and a cyanide capsule, just in case.
A captivating and highly intense film, Number 24, now streaming on Netflix, opens with Sønsteby as an old man (Erik Hivju), as he prepares himself to speak to young students in Rjukan about his time in the resistance and the harsh realities of war.
Sjur Vatne Brean gives a powerful portrayal of the unusual young hero who cannot see beyond freeing his country from the Nazis. Careful, methodical, and incredibly composed, we discover as the story shifts from youthful resistance fighter to brittle and scarred pensioner, that Gunnar was clearly haunted by ghosts of the past, his own actions, and the horrors that lived with him long afterwards.
Number 24 is poignant, patriotic, deeply moving, and more taut than a gnat’s rear end. If you are a fan of war films from this period, you certainly won’t be disappointed. A powerful and dramatic watch, we learn that freedom for those without, comes at huge cost.
(5/5)
