Pts. interesting film about the life and work of Munch. We strongly recommend.
Edvard Munch /Edvard Munch (1976)
Directed by Peter Watkins /Peter Watkins
"... The Hunted on the shelf at the Cannes selectors film and TV producers Peter Watkins 'Edvard Munch' was in 1976, reluctantly screened out of competition at Cannes, on European television, in limited release in the United States and several other countries. Only in 2002 right it was purchased by Digital Classics Distribution and the film is now available in full renovated 3.5-hour version on dvd. This is the main masterpiece Watkins about it enthusiastically responded Ingmar Bergman.
Happened in 1968 in the Munch Museum in Oslo, Watkins was first acquainted with his works, and is shocked by them. In the interview, he outlines the main reason why Munch caused him such a great interest: "I was very touched by how Munch worked with space and shape distortion of time and direct contact with the audience. The painting "Death in the sickroom" present his younger sister Inger, which looks directly at us. Since the days of the "Battle of Culloden" I have worked with in the same way contact with the audience, interviewing people in my films is that they were looking straight into the camera at some point. It's a way to remove the so-called "fourth wall" elitist barrier in the movie, which acts as the distance between actor and audience, and between the director and the audience. For me, this wall is a kind of comfortable cushion for filmmakers, buried in that they do not acknowledge the audience as a participant in the work of the media. So I was very touched to learn that Edward Munch also wanted to get away from the barrier ". [4]
"Edvard Munch" extraordinarily detailed account of the biography of the Norwegian national genius in the period of his first lessons in painting up to the time of the highest creative peak. Born into a family physician, Munch grew up without a mother, who died of tuberculosis, heavily experienced the death of her younger sister from the same illness, and he was distinguished weak lungs. From the first frame residents of Christiania (Oslo Contemporary) end of the XIX century, native Munch and just representatives of the lower social classes, talk to the camera about the manners and customs of bourgeois society, destitution and diseases of the poor work and lush elite daily walks along the main street, Karl Johans Gate. Finery, the smiles of women, major sounds of a military band. However, the main stronghold of spirituality in a church, and the culture represented only a cheap farce.
And then Watkins reports that the bourgeoisie has attended the legalization of prostitution, but has not made any steps towards the reform of child labor. It is not difficult to imagine the level of infant mortality, at least according to the data on such a happy family Munch. But Watkins is only at first glance brings us to a simple conclusion about class inequality. Munch a short time was the realistic painter, and brought him all the glory of close to symbolism and expressionism. So Watkins comes to an unusual decision - he meticulously shows in the face of Munch's typical life of a young bourgeois belonging at the same time to the intelligentsia.
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Youth Munch painted bohemian colors: smoky pub conversations about Marx, sex, religion, equal rights for women. The leader of the circle is a writer and anarchist Yeberg, frank wrote a novel about his sexual relationship with a minor. In the film, Watkins generally pays great attention to the sexual life of the artist and his entourage - from its connection with a brisk domestic staff. There's also a beer Munch met his first love, married lady Fru Heiberg, which attracted a bohemian air of freedom and uninhibited relationship between the parties gatherings.
All the scenes - from the everyday to the bohemian family gatherings filmed in his typical manner Watkins, as an alternation of interviews, documentary style of filming (at this time is very accurate) as a casual glance at the camera. But in fact emerges is somewhat different situation: the spectator is quite simply the other side of the screen, we are not filmmakers, observer, and the people who came to this house, communicating with the characters. Such an intimate style of visual storytelling Watkins emphasizes the construction of the frame, typical of paintings of that time: the genre street sketches, restrained work with color, light side, as if by accident snatched everyday, but poetic emotions on their faces, the way to sit a bit posing, succinctly filed interior, leaving look at the periphery, in the center of the frame is always a person or entity. Watkins minimalistic in the reconstruction of the world in which he lived Munch, just costumes, makeup, small shooting on location, the involvement of non-professional actors, tipazhnosti those northerners - but it all looks incredible on-screen return in time, which is only enhanced by the brilliant actor's performance and especially the artist starring Geir Westby.
Watkins shows Munch thoughtful young man living in the world of bourgeois hypocrisy and decadent decay. All this is highly similar to turning the situation in European countries and in the U.S. in the 1970s, not so much the specific phenomenon as Marx or Freud's passion and sexual freedom, and the feeling of the need for change, the desire to protest even if their way of life. Norwegian bohemians in one turn of the century and reminds one of beatniks, radicals and youth 70. Against this background, Munch seems, though esoteric, but to those whose pictures are beginning to cause all of the great scandals and accusations of inhabitants and art critics in mental illness.
Watkins does not refuse such an interpretation of his character, and it is clear that the painting "The Scream" could write a deeply wounded by the state of affairs in a society that has deep personal drama. This drama is his love for Fru Heiberg that gave him the happiest moments in my life, in the summer in the village of romantic meetings at the beach. And Watkins repeats the refrain of the memories of the bloody attacks Munch illness of his younger sister. Watkins after Munch shared his longing for the woman left him, and let the beautiful coquette, change husbands and lovers. But Watkins, these bright moments allow powerfully underline the normal decay of interpersonal relationships in the modern world Munch cheap booths, random intrigues, rivers of alcohol and mentoring pathos inhabitants.
The artist Edvard Munch appears on the screen frustrated alcoholic, left the young, illusions, leaving in binges, mental disorder, loneliness, and - new artistic solutions, hobby engraving. Noting year after year life Munch Watkins extremely leisurely, lists the events of political and cultural life that occurred during this year, juicy describes as Munch moved to Berlin and flows into there the artistic life, met with Strindberg, Satanist Przybyszewski and all lost and debauched by the Berlin . And the further we follow Munk, the more note fatigue in his eyes, his obsession, his detachment. And so it turns out that in the fate of Munch Watkins recreates in all its glory fatal decline of European life, the terrible premonition of impending change.
Stable, but in fact stale, rotten bourgeois society, does not offer its citizens are no better ways to ensure that live life to the public good, is reduced to a trivial emotional realm of physiology and nizvedshee family values to blunt the patriarchal teachings inevitably rolled into the abyss. And best of all Munch felt it, but not as a realist, but as an artist made his way into the depths of the subconscious and pulled out all the anxiety, wounding and unpleasant. So realist Watkins after his hero, so do not look like it for its artistic techniques, comes to the same conclusion through here this point where breaks the barrier between the viewer and the artist, the barrier between genius with a different style, but with the same need for clarity in life man call out to him yet possible. And sadly, but it is the society that went through war, genocide, and the revolution will be hard to beat, barring and sabotaging his work, from one of the greatest filmmakers of our time - Peter Watkins. "