Hunger

Henning Carlsen's 1966 film adapts Knut Hamsun's 1890 novel and was shot in Oslo. Pontus is a young man trying to be a writer with no money, no food and nowhere decent to sleep. He walks the city, tries to sell what he writes to the newspapers, goes hungry, and as the hunger deepens his grip on reality slips. One moment he is elated, the next he is cursing everyone, and through it he insists on keeping his dignity and pride and refuses offers of help. The film observes that inner state from outside and does not try to explain it. Per Oscarsson's performance won best actor at Cannes and, with his physical transformation, became one of the most discussed of the period. It was a co-production between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Who it's for: viewers who like literary adaptation and the harder strand of Scandinavian cinema. Who it's not for: anyone wanting plot; the film is the unravelling of one mind.