Number 24 Plot Summary
As a biographical drama and psychological thriller, Number 24 (Nr 24) is the first Norwegian film dedicated to the country’s most honored person. The film shows the life of Gunnar Sørnsteby in two intertwining timelines, the present and the war period, capturing both the modern day and past seamlessly through skilled acting.
The movie starts with a mundane meeting of two men, a casual discussion of freedom and its cost. One of the men is Gunnar Sønsteby, accompanied by a friend, Erling Solheim.
Let’s skip to 1940 Germany has invaded Norway and marches into Oslo with a formidable army of 800 men. Young apprentice Gunnar is furious and opts to join the fight for his country’s freedom, determined to protect it at all costs.
That legend eventually came to be the head of the Norwegian resistance movement. He eventually meets the King, and later carries out several sabotage missions to get the Nazis out of Norway for good.
How brutal were the Norwegian Nazis?
It seems that, according to Gunnar’s testimony, the Norwegian Nazis may have been more brutal than the German Nazis in their methods. They also had their own Holocaust camps and, as if that were not bad enough, some of the locals collaborated with the Germans, which made it almost impossible to know who was on your side.
Following the torture of one of his fellow soldiers until they reveal an identity, Gunnar becomes the number one most wanted man. After some persistence, he can receive training after meeting the head of the resistance, who sets him up as one of the tools to help fight back against the Nazis. He isn’t troubled by the ‘usual’ distractions of women or alcohol, so for the spies, he’s the ideal candidate.
What is the inciting incident here?
Gunnar’s first major act of sabotage is blowing up a building, but the next day, it does not make the papers. This has an uncanny resemblance to modern-day due to the era of misinformation we live in now. It is telling that he has to carry grenades with him because the Nazis know who he is, a precautionary measure to ensure his safety in case he is captured. This demonstrates the extreme lengths he is willing to go to protect his secrets and keep his mission.
As he puts it in the movie, no one knows how they would respond to torture, and it would be unreasonable to judge anyone for disclosing information under such brutal conditions. When surrender is framed this way, sympathy becomes easy, both as a precondition and a consequence.
Gunnar is so prolific in this role that he meets the King, who encourages Gunnar to keep sabotaging no matter what, essentially asking him to remove the Germans. This impetus does help spur him on, but sadly, he is confronted by the death of his two close comrades, Tallak and Greggers.
Without Gunnar in the picture, they reached out to two German deserters from the Luftwaffe. Or as they thought, were deserted. Both men were Nazis and were sadly executed. Tallak was shot in the face, survived, but was then captured and tortured. He did not want to betray Gunnar and the rest, so in the end chose to commit suicide instead.
Which of the brothers does Gunnar assassinate?
This leads to a more elaborate set of missions to complete for Gunnar Sønsteby. He is next assigned the task of assassinating a fellow countryman and Nazi sympathizer Gunnar Lindvig. He takes Andreas with him for this mission. Andreas is now deeply committed since his brother was murdered by the Nazis, though he was cowed into submission. This was one of the many men Gunnar executes, but our protagonist remains unbending when asked in the present about this decision. It is a necessary action, he says, to secure freedom for his country, despite the sacrifices required.
The disputed case in question is tied to Karl Marthinsen. The guy is responsible for the concentration camps located in Norway and is also a notorious figure as he single-handedly annihilated an entire population of Norwegians, so obviously, he was executed. But, in retaliation, the Germans killed 28 Norwegian men, a mixture of soldiers and random civilians. This throws substantial suspicion towards Gunnar’s mission and whether his endeavors put more Norwegians in danger than required.
What do we know about Erling Solheim?
Erling Solheim is somehow connected to one of the crowds of people depicted during the modern-day lecture. Turns out, the man was planning to inform the authorities about Gunnar and a bunch of other resistance fighters. Since Gunnar was the leader of the resistance at the time, he initiated the process of controlling him to ensure that the fight for freedom continues.
In one of the letters captured by the resistance, Erling claims that he possesses intel on Sonsteby, Haughland, and Heiberg. Since they intercepted the letter, it means that Gunnar was behind the entire operation. Rather, squandered his chances of being captured by sending agents deemed him to control the capital, San Francisco. I mean, what he thought would be a golden opportunity to show off in Oslo turned out to be his death.
Clearly, Gunnar remembers this man, considering this was the childhood friend he went out in the mountains with at the start of the movie. This action alone shows the lengths to which Gunnar was willing to go to achieve freedom for his country.
It is not long after this that Norway is set free from the Nazi chains due to the world war ending.
How does Number 24 end?
From the current timeline, Gunnar has a conversation with the student who disputed the matter with him over Erling’s death. Here, all on his own, he decides to share the truth of the circumstances, but it is apparent he needs some nudging to confront his past struggles.
This connects to the beginning of the movie where Gunnar himself said he has “five drawers”, which correlate to different sections of his life and memories. The fifth and final drawer, the bottom one, has been closed since May 8th 1945,” to quote him. That is why he has been able to go on till now, but can, in fact, adapt to the others who do not come to cope with the brutality of war.
From the day of Liberation, Andreas drank heavily until he shot himself in 1965.
What is the fate of Gunnar?
Gunnar was never caught by the Germans while undertaking more than 20 sabotage missions during the war. He remains the highest decorated Norwegian citizen, being the sole holder of the war cross with three swords. In 1953, he married his beloved Anne-Karin and has since spent 7 years of his life devoted to helping war victims.
This tremendous man committed to spare no effort in the pursuit of his country’s freedom alongside reputed Number 24, who has no doubt fulfilled his statement by setting this legacy.
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