Picture Show

Train Smoke, 1900Reflecting recently on memorable biopics about artists, I remembered years ago having the opportunity to see the 1974 film Edvard Munch by Peter Watkins (right). It was shown at ACMI’s Cinematheque, and I recall being absolutely enthralled watching the film.

Munch (1863–1944), the Norwegian Expressionist painter is most famous for his painting The Scream, one of the pieces in a series titled The Frieze of Life. The film covers a thirty-year period in Munch’s life, from his harrowing childhood oppressed by death and disease, to his bohemian young adulthood during which he began an obsessive affair with a married woman. In his lifetime, Munch’s avant-garde work was reviled for his unusual style (of colour and texture) and themes of death, illness and eroticism alike.

Melancholy, 1896What is fascinating about the film is the director’s documentary approach: he employs hand-held cameras, a narrator, and mostly non-professional Norwegian actors who sometimes speak directly to camera, as though being interviewed. Additionally, he deliberately chose actors who intensely disliked Munch’s work to better express the hostility of Munch’s contemporaries.

Watkins’ technique creates the delightful impression that one is watching a film of the period – which of course is impossible since film was then in its infancy. Watching it was an extraordinary experience.

Watkins’ technique creates the delightful impression that one is watching a film of the period …

I have always enjoyed Munch’s work, but gained a new appreciation for his paintings and prints when the National Gallery of Victoria International held an exhibition on him a few years ago. I particularly loved the atmospheric rolling landscapes, with their voluptuous shapes, amorphous in the dusk. His pictures of lovers embracing were also fascinating, their shapes merging together, both a metaphor and an illusion brought on by the cover of darkness. Watkins’ film only brings one closer to understanding the man who created such compelling pictures.

The Kiss, 1897

See all of Munch’s paintings at WikiPaintings, and read more about the film at Rotten Tomatoes.