No. 24 (2024)
No. 24 is a 2024 Norwegian biographical war drama film directed by Jon Andreas Andersen from a screenplay by Erlend Loe, Espen Lauritzen von Ibenfeld, and Peter Rongen Johansen. The film premiered on the Netflix movie platform on January 1, 2025.
The film tells the true story of Gunnar Sjönsteby, the most highly decorated fighter of the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II.
The story is presented through a frame – an adult Gunnar (Erik Hivu), who shares his experiences with students in his native Ryukan, and his young image (Sur Vatne Brean), who became involved in the resistance from the day of the invasion in April 1940.
This „narrative within a narrative“ allows us to follow his development from student and accountant to leader of the famous „Oslo Group“ – the secret network of sabotage that blocked the Nazi regime inside occupied Norway.
The drama unfolds dynamically, but without unnecessary frills – it was shot in about 24 shooting days between Norway and Lithuania. The director avoids the standard clichés of military cinematography – no training, reenactments, marches – only tough choices and consequences. The block montage between lectures and past missions makes the film mentally engaging and visually confronting.
No. 24 is a film about heroism that is not shouted – it is whispered. It proves that the true power of resistance lies in silence, planning and refusing to accept surrender. With minimal means and strong performance, the film about the story of Gunnar Sjöstäby becomes a lesson for all time.
