Veteran Danish director Henning Carlsen owes much of his cinematic reputation to his 1966 adaptation of Knut Hamsun's Sult ( Hunger). Almost 30 years later he tackles another novel by the Norwegian Nobel Prize winning author, choosing again a first person narrative to tell the story. A Norwegian lieutenant sitting in a jungle shelter is writing a farewell letter to his beloved Edvarda back home. The letter triggers a series of flashbacks showing the lieutenant, Thomas Glahn, settling down for a summer in a cottage located in the midst of the harsh landscape of Norway's northern coast, his meeting with Edvarda, the beautiful young daughter of Mack, the most influential person in the neighbouring village, his obsession with her and their love affair which has to end because he cannot match up to her expectations.
Lasse Kolsrud is impressive as the unhappy lieutenant in his screen debut, marvelously expressing melancholy, charm and instability of character. His performance is strongest in the jungle scenes, shot in Thailand, as he despondently hunts wild animals for no reason at all, pursued everywhere by the pain of the love he lost, the figure of the girl he tries to forget and the memoirs that he wants to write down.
Beautifully lensed by Danish cinematographer Henning Kristiansen, the story is effectively underlined by the score of Icelandic composer Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, who touches all the right strings. The landscape is of crucial importance throughout, but never at the expense of the characters. Review by Kalle Lochen
Production company: Northern Lights A/S
Producers: Zentropa Entertainments, Dagmar Film, Multimedia Hamburg, NRK, Schibsted
Film Producer: Axel Helgeland
Director/screenplay: Henning Carlsen, based on Knut Hamsun's novel Pan
Director of photography: Henning Kristiansen
Editor: Anders Refn
Production designer: Carl Lange (Norway), Martin Gant (Thailand)
Costumes: Inge Derlick
Music: Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson
Sound: Leif Jensen
Cast: Lasse Kolsrud (Thomas Glahn), Sofie Grabol (Edvarda), Bjorn Sundquist (Mack), Anneke von der Lippe (Eva)
Genre: drama
Censorship rating: over 11
Domestic distribution: Norsk Filmdistribusjon A/S
Budget: $4 million
Subsidies: Norwegian Film Institute, Danish Filminstitute, Filmburo Hamburg, Nordic Film and TV Fund, EURIMAGES
International sales: Seawell Films, 45, Rue Pierre Charon, 75008 Paris,
tel: +33-1-47 20 18 73/47 20 72 65
fax: +33-1-47 20 15 43
Running time:115 minutes
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