24. IMAGES OF A NORDIC DRAMA (2021) dir. Nils Gaup

Nils Gaup's "Images of a Nordic Drama" chronicles the decades-long journey of Norwegian art collector Haakon Mehren to have the country's National Museum recognize and celebrate the paintings of Askel Waldemar Johannessen, a late 19th Century contemporary of the likes of Edvard Munch ("The Scream"). Mehren found the paintings in a barn in the '90s, where they'd gathered dust, lost, for 70 years. Discovery of a lifetime, should be a winner, right? The museum hates the work. Johannessen's depictions of the darker sides of working-class life, including prostitution and alcoholism, clash with the more gilded portraits they hope to present as Norway's artistic contribution to the world. Mehren's persistence takes him across Europe and the Atlantic as he tries to get people to see the value in the talent and perspective of one of Norway's lost artists.---Follow The Movies on ⁠Instagram ⁠& ⁠Letterboxd⁠Financially support the podcast via the ⁠tip jar!