Hunger 1966

In 1890 Kristiania (Oslo), Pontus Per Oscarsson, an impoverished and lonely writer, arrives from the countryside. He stands on a bridge, overlooking running water, writing, yet he is clearly starving. He visits a pawnbroker Osvald Helmuth several times, pawning his waistcoat for a few coins and giving the money to a beggar. Money that falls into his hands he also gives away, a quiet testament to a self-imposed poverty that defines his days. He has written an article that a newspaper editor Henki Kolstad agrees to publish if he makes some corrections, but Pontus is too proud to accept an advance, so he leaves elated but still hungry.

He begs a bone for his fictitious dog, gnawing on it secretly in an alley. He often has chances to improve his situation, but his pride usurps his need, such as when he declines the much-needed help of a worried friend. When he is unable to pay his rent, the landlady Else Heiberg evicts him. Another landlady shortly does the same, underscoring a life that seems to shrink around him.

Hunger is a constant weight as Pontus drifts between hallucination and reality while struggling to survive. He endures humiliations that push him toward the edge of insanity, his days punctuated by small acts of defiance and stubborn pride. He applies for an accounting job but is rejected, and even a hopeful shot at becoming a fireman falls apart when he fails a physical exam because he wears glasses. One vivid hallucination centers on Ylajali Gunnel Lindblom, a refined woman he has encountered on the street. Despite their mutual flirtations, nothing ever develops between them in the waking world.

In a sudden impulse, Pontus takes a job as a crew member on an outbound freighter, stepping onto the deck with a mix of resolve and uncertainty. His destination remains unknown, and so the journey begins, carrying the weight of a man who clings to dignity even as the city swallows more of him.