Per Oscarsson won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his stunning portrayal of a starving writer in this gripping Danish drama based on a novel by Nobel laureate Knut Hamsun. Struggling to survive in 1890s Norway, Pontus (Oscarsson) believes in himself and refuses to take charity, preferring to scrounge for food on the street. He suffers hallucinations and often talks to his shoes, but he never gives up his hopes for future success.