The Telegraphist

The Telegraphist is Knut Hamsun's story of Rolandsen (Bjørn Floberg), telegraphist and inventor, who aspires to get rich through his scientific discoveries and thus win the heart of Elise Mack (Marie Richardson), the beautiful daughter of the trading centres tycoon. This film takes delight in the exploits of Rolandsen, an early 20th-century everyman who is by turns a lovable fool, a crank philosopher, a shrewd womanizer and a compassionate man. In short, Rolandsen is wonderfully unpredictable. The story takes place in the summer of 1903 on the coast of northern Norway. It is a time of stunning visual clarity and pastoral beauty, with the midnight sun in the sky and the passions running deep. The clock is striking the eleventh hour, the last chance to fulfill dreams. (Norsk Filminstitutt)