Hamsun (1996)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

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)

An intimate portrait of complicity, a marriage and an artist that shouldn't be missed.

The extraordinary Max von Sydow stars in this terrific film about the fine line between complicity and collaboration in the life of a Noble Prize winning writer from Norway during the Nazi occupation. But this film is also so much more than that: it is a film about the complex and heart-wrenching relations between the writer, his wife and their children. Like "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl," this film asks where we draw the line in holding artists responsible for their art and actions in an oft confusing world. But it takes that question a step further in examining how his art may also have cost him his relationships with his wife and children.

This is a beautifully filmed, well-acted movie; a true character study of the inner lives of a family, particularly Knut Hamsun and his wife, Marie, evocatively portrayed by Ghita Norby. It is a subtle and slow-paced film in true Scandinavian fashion and von Sydow again shows us why he will be remembered of one of the finest actors of cinema's first 100 years. I highly recommend it, and for those who are interested in other movies dealing with this theme, especially as it relates to artists, so often regarded as naive regarding politics and how they are may be used and manipulated for political gain, I highly recommend "Mother Night," the aforementioned documentary about Riefenstahl, and "Mephisto."