Hunger (1966)

Hunger (Sult)
Directed by Henning Carlsen
Written by Henning Carlsen and Peter Seeberg from a novel by Knut Hamson
1966/Denmark/Sweden/Norway
Sandrews/Studio ABC/Svenska Film Institutet
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Pontus: All is lost, ladies and gentlemen! All is lost![/box]

I have to be in the right mood to watch a man slowly starve to death while gradually losing his mind.  I was not but I have to admit that this is a high quality movie.

The year is 1890 and the setting is Christiana (now Oslo, Norway).  Pontus (Per Oscarsson) is a talented but struggling young writer. He is unemployed and hungry. Numerous efforts to find work are fruitless.  He loses his living quarters.  He wanders the city carrying his only possessions – the suit of clothes he has on, his glasses, and his bedding.  The pawnshop owner will not lend money on any of it.

Despite his desperate state, Pontus begins a mild flirtation with a young woman (Gunnel Lindblom) who responds in kind.  An editor says he will pay for a story if Pontus can make some minor edits.  Is it too late for our hero to find some meat in his misery sandwich?

This film has a lot in common with Vittorio De Sica’s Umberto D. in that the protagonist is not exactly sympathetic.  Pontus is so proud that he refuses all offers of help and basically seals his own fate.  This keeps the story from falling into easy sentimentality.  So does Oscarsson’s performance.  He manages to be pathetic, endearing, and infuriating all at the same time.  The camerawork is splendid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0jnZDsHjUw