Hamsun (film)
Encyclopedia
Hamsun is a 1996 Danish
-Swedish
-Norwegian
-German
drama
directed by Jan Troell, about the later life of the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun
(Max von Sydow
), who together with his wife Marie Hamsun
(Ghita Nørby
), went from being national saints to national traitors after supporting Nazi Germany
during their occupation of Norway
during World War II
.
The film is notable for its use of language. Sydow and Nørby speak throughout the film in their native Swedish
and Danish
respectively, while the rest of the cast speak Norwegian
or German
.
It won the Gulbagge Awards
for Best Film, Best Actor (Sydow), Best Actress (Nørby) and Best Script (Enquist
).
, the author of the book Processen mod Hamsun contacted Troell, wanting him to direct a Norwegian television series based on the book. Max von Sydow was meant to do the part as Hamsun already then. But NRK dropped out on the project, believing it would be too controversial.
Fourteen years later, in 1993, von Sydow brought the project back to life when he got the Danish production company Nordisk Film
interested in adapting the book. This time with Per Olov Enquist
, who had written Troell's previous film Il Capitano
, providing the screenplay.
The shooting took place during the spring and summer 1995, with a budget of around 40 million SEK
. Noteworthy is that the most expensive scene filmed, where Marie Hamsun witnesses the attack and sinking of the German cruiser Blücher
in the Oslofjord
at the battle of Drøbak Sound
on 9 April 1940, was cut from the finished product.
, 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 against Bille August
's historical epic Jerusalem
.
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 film Il Capitano.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
-Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Jan Troell, about the later life of the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun
Knut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul....
(Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
), who together with his wife Marie Hamsun
Marie Hamsun
Marie Hamsun was a Norwegian actress and writer. Marie Andersen was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway. She was the eldest child in an affluent family. In 1897 the family moved to Christiania, where his father was involved in the property trade for twenty years until he bought the farm in Åneby in...
(Ghita Nørby
Ghita Nørby
Ghita Nørby is a popular Danish actress with 117 film credits to her name from 1956-2005, making her one of the most active Danish actresses ever. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to opera singer Einar Nørby...
), went from being national saints to national traitors after supporting Nazi Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during their occupation of Norway
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The film is notable for its use of language. Sydow and Nørby speak throughout the film in their native Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
respectively, while the rest of the cast speak Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
or German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
It won the Gulbagge Awards
Guldbagge Award
The Guldbagge Award is an official Swedish film award awarded annually since 1964 by the Swedish Film Institute.-Etymology:Guldbagge is the Swedish name for Cetonia aurata, a beetle also known as rose chafer. The name of the award could also be interpreted as a play on the Swedish word skalbagge,...
for Best Film, Best Actor (Sydow), Best Actress (Nørby) and Best Script (Enquist
Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist, better known as P. O. Enquist, is a Swedish author. He has worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist...
).
Selected cast
- Max von SydowMax von SydowMax von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
as Knut HamsunKnut HamsunKnut Hamsun was a Norwegian author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. He was praised by King Haakon VII of Norway as Norway's soul.... - Ghita NørbyGhita NørbyGhita Nørby is a popular Danish actress with 117 film credits to her name from 1956-2005, making her one of the most active Danish actresses ever. She was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to opera singer Einar Nørby...
as Marie HamsunMarie HamsunMarie Hamsun was a Norwegian actress and writer. Marie Andersen was born in Elverum, Hedmark, Norway. She was the eldest child in an affluent family. In 1897 the family moved to Christiania, where his father was involved in the property trade for twenty years until he bought the farm in Åneby in... - Anette HoffAnette HoffAnette Hoff is an Norwegian actress. She has played hotel manager Juni Anker-Hansen in Hotel Cæsar for 13 years. In 2009 she took a break to play on stage. She left the show in April 2010, but returned in December 2010.-Selected filmography:...
as Ellinor Hamsun - Gard B. Eidsvold as Arild Hamsun
- Eindride Eidsvold as Tore Hamsun
- Åsa Söderling as Cecilia Hamsun
- Sverre Anker OusdalSverre Anker OusdalSverre Anker Ousdal is a Norwegian actor born in Flekkefjord, Norway.-Biography:Ousdal made his debut in 1965 at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen...
as Vidkun QuislingVidkun QuislingVidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying... - Erik HivjuErik HivjuErik Hivju is a Norwegian actor. Hivju has appeared in more than a dozen television series, as well as several films.-External links:...
as Dr. Gabriel LangfeldtGabriel LangfeldtGabriel Langfeldt was a Norwegian psychiatrist. He was a professor at the University of Oslo from 1940 to 1965. His publications centered on schizofrenia and forensic medicine. Among his research projects were studies of the psychology of Nazi sympathisers. He was involved as an expert during the... - Edgar Selge as Josef TerbovenJosef TerbovenJosef Antonius Heinrich Terboven was a Nazi leader, best known as the Reichskommissar during the German occupation of Norway.-Early life:...
- Ernst JacobiErnst JacobiErnst Jacobi is a German film and television actor.-Selected filmography:*Derrick - Season 2, Episode 6: "Paddenberg" -External links:*...
as Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945... - Svein Erik BrodalSvein Erik BrodalSvein Erik Brodal is a Norwegian actor, theatre director, poet, novelist and politician. He made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1960, and served as theatre director from 1979 to 1990. He was a deputy representative to the Parliament from 1997 to 2001.-References:...
as Holmboe - Per Jansen as Harald GriegHarald GriegHarald Grieg was a Norwegian publisher.He was a relative of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Harald's brother Nordahl Grieg was a writer and an active member of the Free Norwegian Forces during the German occupation of Norway...
- Jesper ChristensenJesper ChristensenJesper Christensen is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr...
as Otto DietrichOtto DietrichDr. Otto Dietrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer, the Third Reich's Press Chief, and a confidant of Adolf Hitler.-Biography:... - Johannes Joner as Finn Christensen
- Finn Schau - Doctor
Production
The plans for the film have a history from 1979, when Thorkild HansenThorkild Hansen
Thorkild Hansen was a Danish novelist known for his Slave Trilogy. He also did works concerning Knut Hamsun and travel writing...
, the author of the book Processen mod Hamsun contacted Troell, wanting him to direct a Norwegian television series based on the book. Max von Sydow was meant to do the part as Hamsun already then. But NRK dropped out on the project, believing it would be too controversial.
Fourteen years later, in 1993, von Sydow brought the project back to life when he got the Danish production company Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film
Nordisk Film , established in Denmark in 1906 by Danish filmmaker Ole Olsen, is the oldest continuously operating film studio in the world. Olsen started his company in the Copenhagen suburb of Valby under the name "Ole Olsen's Film Factory" but soon changed it to the Nordisk Film Kompagni...
interested in adapting the book. This time with Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist
Per Olov Enquist, better known as P. O. Enquist, is a Swedish author. He has worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist...
, who had written Troell's previous film Il Capitano
Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem
Il Capitano: A Swedish Requiem is a 1991 Swedish-Finnish biographical drama film directed by Jan Troell, about the 1988 Åmsele murders where a family of three was murdered by Juha Valjakkala over a stolen bicycle. Antti Reini stars as Valjakkala, renamed Jari in the film, and Maria Heiskanen as...
, providing the screenplay.
The shooting took place during the spring and summer 1995, with a budget of around 40 million SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
. Noteworthy is that the most expensive scene filmed, where Marie Hamsun witnesses the attack and sinking of the German cruiser Blücher
German cruiser Blücher
Blücher was the second of five heavy cruisers of the German Kriegsmarine, built after the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles. Named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the victor of the Battle of Waterloo, the ship was laid down in August 1936 and launched in...
in the Oslofjord
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
at the battle of Drøbak Sound
Battle of Drøbak sound
The Battle of Drøbak Sound took place in the northernmost part of the Oslofjord on 9 April 1940, on the first day of the German invasion of Norway...
on 9 April 1940, was cut from the finished product.
Release
The film was initially meant to be released in the autumn 1996 at the Venice Film FestivalVenice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, 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 against Bille August
Bille August
Bille August is a Danish Academy Award winning film and television director. His film Pelle the Conqueror from 1987 won the Palme D'or, Academy Award and Golden Globe. He is one of the very few directors to win the Palme D'or twice, winning the prestigious award again in 1991 for The Best...
's historical epic Jerusalem
Jerusalem (film)
Jerusalem is the title of a Swedish international feature-film from 1996, based upon two novels, Jerusalem I + II by Swedish autor and Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf...
.
During the Swedish release Troell and the producer heavily criticized the distributor, Svensk Filmindustri
AB Svensk Filmindustri
AB Svensk Filmindustri or Svensk Filmindustri is a Swedish film production company, distributor and movie theatre chain, currently owned by the Bonnier Group. It was established on December 27, 1919....
, for the sloppy handling of the film, something he had also experienced with his previous film Il Capitano.