Hamsun (1996)

Director:

Jan Troell

Writers:

Per Olov Enquist (writer)
Madeleine Fant (German script)

Release Date:

6 August 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

They were worshipped as national saints. Hated as traitors. Their marriage spanned from the worst kind of betrayal to the greatest love...

Plot:

Knut Hamsun is Norway's most famous and admired author. Ever since he was young he has hated the English...

Plot Keywords:

Knut Hamsun | Author | German Occupation Of Denmark | Patriotism | Treason

Awards:

9 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Max von Sydow	...	Knut Hamsun
Ghita Nørby	...	Marie Hamsun
Anette Hoff	...	Ellinor Hamsun
Gard B. Eidsvold	...	Arild Hamsun (as Gard Eidsvold)
Eindride Eidsvold	...	Tore Hamsun
Åsa Söderling	...	Cecilia Hamsun
Sverre Anker Ousdal	...	Vidkun Quisling
Erik Hivju	...	Dr. Gabriel Langfeldt
Edgar Selge	...	Terboven
Ernst Jacobi	...	Adolf Hitler
Svein Erik Brodal	...	Holmboe
Per Jansen	...	Harald Grieg
Jesper Christensen	...	Otto Dietrich
Johannes Joner	...	Finn Christensen
Finn Schau	...	Doctor

Runtime:

159 min

Country:

Germany | Norway | Sweden | Denmark

Language:

Norwegian | Swedish | German | Danish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Denmark:12 | Finland:S | Norway:11 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Norsk Film Studio A/S, Jar, Norway

Company:

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bergmans röst (1997)

As close to a perfect drama film you can get

I didn't know about Hamsun before I watched this film, other than him being a Nobel Prize Winner and one of Norway's most known writers. I didn't know about the "pro-Nazi"-story. Although that was both fascinating, shocking and important to learn more about, what I fell for in this film was the focus of the relationship between Knut Hamsun and his wife Marie, so perfect and touchingly acted out by Max von Sydow (must be one of his best performances ever) and the always wonderful Danish actress Ghita Nørby (who we've been fortunate to see a lot of in Sweden as well over the years in films such as "Pensionat Oskar", "Den goda viljan", "Fyra veckor i juni", mini-series "Bryggeren" and - of course - Lars von Trier's "Riget"-series and classic TV-series "Matador"). von Sydow and Nørby breaks your heart in this one and both delivers master performances. It's a pure gift to watch the best Swedish and Danish - and Norwegian - acting forces put together, as it all too rarely happens. Scandinavian cinema at its best!! I LOVE how they've used and brought together the language differences in this film. I'm so glad they didn't make all actors talk English or something or forced them to speak Norwegian. The language mix is so smoothly done so, really, after a while you don't even notice it; you just think of it as different dialects and that's that (-von Sydow speaks Swedish, Nørby Danish and Hamsun children Norwegian, although they're all in reality suppose to be native Norweigans).

"As close to a perfect drama film you can get", I wrote in the summery line. Well, the only thing that's stopping me from giving it a 10 is the length - towards the end it feels a bit long. Still, what makes a great drama film is that it dares to be thorough and takes no short cuts. I'm thinking that perhaps this is the time the characters of Knut and Marie needs. The script is intriguing and very emotionally penetrating. The directing superb - as always with Troell - and the photo outstanding.

Don't miss the present King and Queen of acting in Scandinavia (von Sydow & Nørby) in their, most definitely, Oscar-wordy performances. It's a shame this film isn't more widely known...