Cinema
Maria Marusjka
Oddvar Bull Tuhus · 1973
Synopsis
Ewert Manngård, a former sailor turned lighthouse keeper, lives on an island off the south coast of Norway with his wife and their daughter Marit, who goes to school on the mainland. He keeps the memory of a woman he knew in his years at sea, Maria Marusjka, and worries about what will become of the couple when his daughter leaves. On impulse, he rents a cabin on the island to a writer who has come looking for quiet, whom the three inhabitants begin to spy on.
Context
The film is based on the novel Omgivelser by Kjell Askildsen, published in 1969. It was released in Oslo on 23 April 1973, with Peter Lindgren, Anne Gullestad, Bente Cappelen and Pål Løkkeberg. The press was divided: Aftenposten and Dagbladet praised the performers, while Arbeiderbladet found the whole dull while acknowledging solid work. The film won its director the critics' annual award, and it appeared in high definition in 2024 in the Norske filmklassikere collection.
Who it is for
One hour thirty-one minutes, in Norwegian: a chamber drama set on an island, slow and restrained, resting on its four performers.
Prizes and reception
Honoured by the association of Norwegian critics, after a mixed reception from the press on its release.