Edvard Munch

This offbeat biopic, directed by the talented and controversial Peter Watkins (The War Game), draws its strength and appeal from the filmmaker's depiction of the social and political milieu in which the 19th-century Norwegian painter worked. Suggesting that the young Munch (Geir Westby) was profoundly affected by the death of his mother and his subsequent affair with an older woman known as “Mrs. Heiberg” (Gro Fraas), the film follows the artist as he first develops the Expressionist school of painting (and is much reviled by critics and the public in his own country) and later takes up residence in Berlin, where he becomes swept up in the cultural tornado fanning across Europe in the fin de siecle period. Like many of Watkins' films, Edvard Munch (1976) has a documentary-like aura about it, and the actors—most of them amateurs—address the camera directly. Munch's life does not unfold before our eyes in a linear fashion; instead, Watkins hopscotches across a span of years, presenting various events in a dramatically satisfying rather than strictly chronological order, and while some consider Watkins' approach to be annoying if not downright insufferable, many patient viewers will discover that Edvard Munch is a rewarding film. Boasting a fine transfer, and an accompanying 24-page booklet, this is recommended. (E. Hulse)[DVD Review—Dec. 11, 2007—New Yorker, 2 discs, 220 min., in English, Norwegian & German w/English subtitles, not rated, $39.95—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1974's Edvard Munch (Special Edition 2-DVD Set) sports a solid transfer and includes DVD extras such as the vintage documentaries “From Ekely: The City and the Artists” (12 min.), “Moments in the Life of Edvard Munch” (11 min.), and “The Munch Museum in Oslo” (10 min), as well as six minutes of Munch's film recordings from 1927, and a 56-page booklet (including a chapter from Joseph Gomez's out-of-print 1979 book Peter Watkins, plus Watkins' own “self-interview”). Bottom line: a fine extras package for an interesting biopic.]