| Hamsun | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jan Troell |
| Written by | Screenplay: Per Olov Enquist Book: Thorkild Hansen Marie Hamsun (autobiography) |
| Produced by | Erik Crone |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Jan Troell Mischa Gavrjusjov |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 159 minutes |
| Countries | Denmark Sweden Norway Germany |
| Languages | Swedish Danish Norwegian German |
Hamsun is a 1996 internationally co-produceddrama film directed byJan Troell and written byPer Olov Enquist, about the later life of the Norwegian authorKnut Hamsun (Max von Sydow), who, together with his wifeMarie Hamsun (Ghita Nørby), went from being a national hero to a traitor after supporting NaziGermany during theiroccupation of Norway duringWorld War II.
Sydow and Nørby speak in their nativeSwedish andDanish languages respectively, though there is a scene where he speaks English and several where she speaks German; the rest of the cast speakNorwegian orGerman.
The film won theGuldbagge Awards forBest Film,Best Actor (Sydow),Best Actress (Nørby) andBest Screenplay (Enquist). The film was selected as the Danish entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the69th Academy Awards, but was not shortlisted as a nominee.[1][2]
The plans for the film have a history from 1979, whenThorkild Hansen, the author of the bookProcessen mod Hamsun contacted Troell since he wanted him to direct a Norwegian television series based on the book. Max von Sydow was meant to do the part as Hamsun already then, butNRK dropped out on the project in the belief that it would be too controversial.
Fourteen years later, in 1993, von Sydow brought the project back to life when he got the Danish production companyNordisk Film interested in adapting the book, this time withPer Olov Enquist, who had written Troell's previous filmIl Capitano, providing the screenplay.
The shooting took place during the spring and the summer of 1995, with a budget of around 40 millionSEK. The most expensive scene filmed, in which Marie Hamsun witnesses the attack and the sinking of the German cruiserBlücher in theOslofjord at theBattle of Drøbak Sound on 9 April 1940, was cut from the finished product.[3]
The film was initially meant to be released in the autumn 1996 at theVenice Film Festival, but was brought forward to the spring as Norwegian television would release another film about Hamsun the same year. It also saved the film from having to compete againstBille August's historical epicJerusalem.
During the Swedish release Troell and the producer heavily criticized the distributor,Svensk Filmindustri, for the sloppy handling of the film, something he had also experienced with his previous filmIl Capitano.[3]
