Hamsun

Released Aug 6, 1997

2h 38m

Biography

List

100%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

92%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

This biopic centers on Knut Hamsun (Max von Sydow), a celebrated author in his native Norway. When fascism sweeps through Germany in the 1930s, the writer shocks his countrymen by allying himself with Hitler. Hamsun's wife, Marie (Ghita Nørby), also joins the Nazi cause, and goes so far as to tour in Germany, hosting public speaking engagements in the country. After the war ends, the author and his wife are further vilified in Norway, and ultimately sentenced for crimes against the state.

Read More

Read Less

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Rated: 3.5/4

Apr 30, 2009

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 4/5

Feb 21, 2008

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 3, 2005

Full Review

Elspeth Haughton

Apollo Guide

Rated: 85/100

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Renfreu Neff

Film Journal International

An intriguing case study of the corrosive power of art over love and intimacy.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Read all reviews

andrey k

A strong biographical movie which somehow manages to maintain for the most part unbiased approach to showcasing of the legendary Norwegian Knut Hamsun. The perfomance by Max von Sydow is beyond any praise, the expertly portrayed Hamsun by him is so vivid and real that you totally forget that it's actually an actor.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The actors were unprofessional and the movie was boring. It had a slow pace and hurt my eyes to watch.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

walter m

Quisling(n) - a traitor who aids an occupying force In 1936, Nobel Laureate Knut Hamsun(Max von Sydow) and his wife of thirty years, Marie(Ghita Norby), have a massive row that lays bare the anger that has always existed just beneath the surface, especially as it involves their sending away the kids to boarding school so he can write and his not writing. In the meantime, Marie goes to hear a not-so-crowded lecture by National Socialist Vidkun Quisling(Sverre Anker Ousdal). So, when Marie and Knut reunite, they have something to talk about. Aided by an excellent performance by Max von Sydow in the title role, "Hamsun" would have worked much better as an intimate drama, instead of going for epic stature which only serves to muddle the details of this potentially interesting story with marginally relevant family details. Overall, this is the life of a writer considered a national treasure in his home country of Norway who also acted against its national interests during World War II. In fact, Hamsun did try to use his position to do some good, but as a right wing anti-communist monarchist not having read the big print had no real idea who he was dealing with in the Nazis. It is also possible that he believed their propaganda just as the Nazis used him for propaganda purposes with the cameras going non-stop. All of which just goes to prove you cannot tell everything about an artist from their creative work.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

nick d

art for arts sake + nationalism = fascism

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm an admirer of Hamsun's brilliance as a writer based on his novel Hunger which is still one of the most powerful stories that I have ever read. I'm also slightly familiar with the controversy surrounding his views during the Nazi occupation of Norway and Jan Troell's film Hamsun gave me a better appreciation for those events. The film moved too slowly for me but I believe that it did justice to representing complex and difficult personal choices within the context and uncertainty of WW II rather than as if it were an indictment of personal choices made during a battle of good vs. evil based on the luxury of today's retrospective. Nonetheless, I still hold Hamsun's literary works in high regard even though his character has been judged to be flawed. To those familiar with Max von Sydow's dynamic portrayals and incisive presence on the screen in Ingmar Bergman's films, his presentation of a brilliant but confused Knut Hamsun as an old man might seem diminished in regard to those talents but it was certainly appropriate to the character and the story of this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Jan Troell

Director

Max von Sydow

Knut Hamsun

Ghita Nørby

Marie Hamsun

Anette Hoff

Ellinor Hamsun

Gard B. Eidsvold

Arild Hamsun

Eindride Eidsvold

Tore Hamsun

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

35%

60%

Surviving Picasso

20%

48%

The Audrey Hepburn Story

83%

71%

Winchell

62%

36%

Infinity

77%

70%

I Shot Andy Warhol

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

This biopic centers on Knut Hamsun (Max von Sydow), a celebrated author in his native Norway. When fascism sweeps through Germany in the 1930s, the writer shocks his countrymen by allying himself with Hitler. Hamsun's wife, Marie (Ghita Nørby), also joins the Nazi cause, and goes so far as to tour in Germany, hosting public speaking engagements in the country. After the war ends, the author and his wife are further vilified in Norway, and ultimately sentenced for crimes against the state.

Director: Jan Troell
Producer: Lars Kolvig
Screenwriter: Per Olov Enquist, Madeleine Fant, Marie Hamsun, Jan Troell
Distributor: First Run
Production Co: Nordisk Film
Genre: Biography
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 6, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 17, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.9K
Runtime: 2h 38m
Sound Mix: Dolby
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)