Tossed onto the grimy streets of Oslo in the 1890s when he can’t pay the rent, proud, penniless writer Pontus (Oscarsson) ekes out a bare-bones existence, refusing charity and scrounging food from whatever scraps he can find — even eating paper — while awaiting an editor’s response to an article he’s written.

Adapted from the novel by Noble Prize winner Knut Hamsun, “Hunger” is an anguished film about a man so hungry and down and out he’s afflicted with hallucinations, but who’s chosen to live this way because he believes in the strength of his talent. Cannes Best Actor winner Oscarsson is haunting as Pontus, a figure of utter desolation whose pitiable rejection by a well-heeled young lady (Lindblom) he meets in the park, seals his inward turn. Carlsen’s “Hunger” might be a tale of abject misery, but it resolves on a strong note about remaining true to oneself.