Arne Skouen, born 100 years ago (1913- 2003), is a giant in Norwegian cinema. Skouen was a productive writer and director within film and theatre, as well as a sharp-penned journalist for the two largest papers in Norway. In addition to this he had several books published as a novelist, a playwright, and a writer of non-fiction. In 1932 he made his debut as a novelist, seven years later as a playwright. During WWII he was involved in the resistance, first in Oslo, Norway as an agent sending news to the allied abroad. Later he was stationed in Stockholm, London and New York working partly as a journalist for the allied forces and scriptwriter on the side. During the war, in New York, he watched Marcel Carné’s Le Jour se lève (1939) till he knew it by heart. Many of Skouen’s films show traces of this masterpiece. In Skouen’s films we often see main characters struggling with their inner psyche and inadequacy, dependent on forces beyond themself against the opponents. Arne Skouen directed seventeen feature films between 1949 and 1969, four of those were WWII dramas.

Ni liv is based on David Howarth’s book We Die Alone from 1955, recounting the authentic drama of Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian resistance man during WWII. Baalsrud’s group of resistance men are discovered by German soldiers while smuggling weapons and supplies by boat into Northern Norway. His group mates are killed, but Baalsrud escapes, swimming the icy fjord after having a toe shot off. His long journey to the Swedish border begins.

The main character gets totally dependent on friendly Norwegians in his escape. The enemy of war plays a minor part in this war drama. First and foremost the harsh, cold nature and his own psyche and inner demons are the protagonist’s main enemies. Ni liv was screened in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival 1958, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958.

Bent Bang-Hansen