This two-part epic film about the life of Norwegian writer and Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun (1859-1952), made in 1996, involved the cooperation of four countries and was one of the biggest and most prestigious projects in the history of Nordisk Film. Directed by the legendary Jan Troell and with a screenplay by bestselling author Per Olov Enquist, the film is intimately staged as a tense family drama, with outstanding performances by Max von Sydow and Ghita Nørby as Hamsun and his wife. It explores the fate of the acclaimed and idolized Norwegian writer, who, under the influence of his wife, made advances to the National Socialists, which caused his countrymen to put him on trial after the war.