Shadows of Norman Bates

Goodbye Again (Aimez-vous Brahms?, 1961)
A movie made in Paris, as someone described it as typical of a French movie starring the restaurants and automobiles, involving Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Perkins (yes! Mr Norman Bates himself). It is a romantic drama which showcases the dilemma of a love of a cougar and its prey! It exposed Perkins' acting ability to earn him the Best Actor's award in Cannes in 1961. Somehow, you cannot help but visualise him as an eccentric young man here too!
Paula (Bergman) is a 40 year old interior decorator who feels that her biological clock ticking away as her partner of 5 years continue life as a swinging bachelor jumping from bed to bed. Like a good partner, Paula turns a blind eye to his philandering ways as he continues with his 'business' trips and returns to her as he feels like it.
Paula gets an offer to decorate an American lady's apartment in Paris. Her son is a lazy spoilt brad who is in Paris for a short stint to learn French Law.
This eccentric 25 year old lawyer (Philip, Anthony Perkins) gets mesmerised with Paula's elegance and starts wooing her to the extent of stalking. A bored Paula eventually succumbs to his advances.
Meanwhile, Paula's partner, after being 'told off' by Paula, finds his liaison with an up-and-coming self proclaimed prima donna a tiring affair.
After an initial ecstasy, Paula and Philip get to reassess their relationship after frequent ridicule by friends. Philip's 'laissez-faire' attitude to work and life starts being an irritant.
Paula and former partner yearn for each other. Philip is dropped like a hot potato and they marry. Fin.

The uncanny similarity?

The Magician (Ansiktet, a.k.a. The Face, Swedish; 1958)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
At first you wonder what the heck is happening. A group of travelling magicians are seen moving in a caravan back in the late 19th century Sweden. The leader of the team, Dr Vogler, an apparently mute magician has in his entourage, an assistant (an obviously lady masquerading as a man who later turned out to be his wife), a mysterious 200year old nanny, a stage coach driver, a helper named Tubal who actually just wants to settle down as a house husband are all mixed up in this hodge-podge of conmen who appear to be running from something.
As they go through a small town, they are stopped by police to be interviewed by a group of cynics. These cynics, The Police Superintendent, a doctor - an atheist and a man of science and a nobleman all interview them on the authenticity of their 'magic' acts.
The nobleman's wife is still mourning over the death of her son and was hoping to 'meet' her lost son through the magic man.
One by one the magician's antics was unravelled and the troop was humiliated.
The brooding Dr Vogler is also discovered not to be mute after all. The coach driver is hypnotised to kill Dr Vogler, so is everybody is made to think! The deceptive magician get the last laugh when he manages to frighten the living daylight of his detractors. He uses the body of another death man's body when the doctor decides to perform a post mortem! Can you imagine when he appears in flesh and blood?
In the end, events turn to a heady start. The magician is feted and glorified by the Swedish courts. They leave for the palace to be glorified.
You go on wondering... Who are these people, what are their relationship to each other? Then it strikes you! A person revered for his seemingly miraculous acts, awes many, is put to the test by sceptics, is killed and seen to arise from his death. He gives hope to others to anchor their trusts upon. He himself is sceptical of his capacities and thinks that everything is an illusion but gets glorified in the end. Does it not ring a bell?

A tour promo

Journey to Italy (1954)
Director: Roberto Rosselini
Continuing in her 'outcast' years in Italian neo-realism, Ingrid Bergman continues with another movie which essentially showcases what Naples has to offer to tourist - the villas, museums, the morbid past history and lazy pace of life. In this setting, Katherine and Alex (Ingrid Bergman and George Sanders), a British couple married for 8 years, drive to Naples to dispose off a deceased relative's property. We can see that they are undergoing a rough patch in their relationship. Their going to Italy and taking a long journey is their attempt at reconciliation and rekindling the spark. It obviously does not seem to be working. This uppity couple arrive in their Bentley driving through the country roads complaining about the bugs and unruly drivers.
While waiting for a potential buyer, they mix with the upper crust of society, the rich, bourgeois and royalties. All that relaxing does not mend their relationship. On the contrary, it just invokes more hatred, jealousy and annoyance with each other.
They try separate itinerary for each other; Alex goes to Island of Capri, Katherine visits various museums. All in vain. Alex is a cynical critic whilst Katherine is a hopeless romantic.
When all attempts fail, they decide on a divorce. As they plan to return home, they are caught in a religious street procession. Miraculously (divine intervention or otherwise), as Katherine is caught in a stampede. Alex who goes to her rescue and both realise that the flame is still there.
 Rosselini's movies that he did with Bergman has these undertones that mirror their sordid relationship which was admonished by the general public. Even though his five films with her never reached the accolades achieved by his earlier films (Rome, Open City, 1945 and Paisa, 1946), his later films nevertheless never lost its artistic value. Pandit Jawarhalal, impressed with Rosselini's filmmaking of involving the lay people, invited him over to India to make a film on India. His attempt was cut short after Rosselini, whilst married to Bergman, created an international controversy by seducing a married Indian filmmaker's wife (Sonali Das Gupta). It also effectively ended his union with Bergman.

The letter that ignited the greatest love story between two individuals at the peak of their careers.

Dear Mr. Rossellini,
I saw your films Open City and Paisan, and enjoyed them very much. If you need a Swedish actress who speaks English very well, who has not forgotten her German, who is not very understandable in French, and who in Italian knows only "ti amo", I am ready to come and make a film with you.
Ingrid Bergman

A life lived for others!

Europa '51 (Italian; 1952)
Director: Roberto Rosselini

I could never understand why my Aunt took upon herself to be the guardian of the homeless, the outcast and those shunned by their own families and society. I always thought that perhaps her only means of staying sane after going through a lot of upheavals in her life. Only at her funeral did I realise the extent her love touched so many hearts. In their books, she was a saint.
This week also saw the passing of Malaysia's Champion of the Oppressed. She was always considered a trouble maker by the powers that be and even managed to put her behind bars. The fruit of her work, however, was only seen during her wake. There was no world leaders or novelties to bade her farewell but the immigrants and the small men of the society, the very people she was fighting for.
This film acted beautifully by Ingrid Bergman during her exile days in Italy gives a possible explanation on why people do the things that they do.
Irene Girard (Ingrid Bergman) is enjoying her high society life as her wife to a successful industrialist in Italy. She enjoys playing a good hostess to her friends. They had just migrated from England after WW2 and things are looking bright in Italy. She is, however, concerned about her son who seem to constantly seeking her attention. She thinks, perhaps, it is due to all the mayhem that the family went through the bombardment of London in WW2. The son, Michele, yearns to talk to her but she brushes him aside.
One day, Michele has a nasty fall and fractures his femur. The doctor who treats Michele tells Irene that her son actually attempted suicide from his son's mumbling during administration of anaesthesia. A devastated Irene regrets her inaction earlier and decides to dedicate all her time with Michele. Unfortunately, Michele succumbed to a blood clots in his brain. Irene withdraws from everybody and goes into self imposed solitude in her bedroom.
Her family and friends try to get her on her feet again but in vain. Irene's husband's friend, Andrea, a unapologetic communist, convinces her that life has to go on just like a poor family that he knows that have a very sick child in his death bed. Having the same sensation that she had when she realised her mistake before her son died, she decided that she had to save the child. She took it upon herself to see to it that the child was treated and recovered. Soon she started caring for the poor families around the slump area of town. She becomes a beacon of hope to the poor.
One of the children of the family she was helping had robbed a bank and was on the run. Irene actually helped him escape when he was threatening his family with a gun. That got Irene in trouble with the law.
By that time, Irene's husband started suspecting that she was having an affair with Andrea. Her frequent disappearance from her home, loss of interest in her usual life, her fixation with the poor and their problems strained Irene's marriage.
Somebody suggested that her son's death could have pushed her to depression and institutionalisation may help.

Irene Fernandez (1946- 2014)

Interestingly, her answers to interview is misinterpreted by doctors, pastor and judge alike. The doctors think she is having delusion of grandiose to be the chosen one to save the downtrodden when she just wants to save children from death. The pastor, during his interview with Irene, tries to counsel her about the evils of extra-marital affair. She misinterprets his remarks by quoting the Holy Bible about no one is immune from committing sin. As if being defensive that Irene knew something wrong that he did, he withdraws from her case. The police and judge feel that she may be communist. Finally, everybody agrees that Irene should be institutionalised in the mental asylum.
Ingrid Bergman who acted in this movie during her exile years in Italy won her many accolades, deservedly.

Obstacles aplenty in life!

Stromboli (1950)

This neo-realistic Italian film sparked the affair between one of my favourite actresses and Italian director, Roberto Rossellini. This union ended with an out of wedlock baby, which ostracised Ingrid Bergman for years at the Hollywood level. A neo-realistic movie (Neorealismo) would be one where the location of the set is amongst the poor and its use of non-professional actors.

Here, in Stromboli, the setting is among a fishing community living on an island with a volcano. Coincidentally, it actually erupted during the shooting.

Even though it tells a story of a Lithuanian refugee who gets herself in a marriage of convenience to escape internment camp, it questions life and God at a deeper level. It narrates the harsh reality of getting hitched to someone totally different in values, beliefs, way of life, and how he lives.
Karin (Ingrid Bergman) finds herself living in a depilated house on an island with active volcanic activity. Her neighbours are unfriendly judgemental conservative old ladies. The youngsters have all left the scene. The only person she thought she could relate to is a parish priest whom she later discovers is not forthcoming with help as he is worried about what the rest of the community would think about him. Karin's husband, who promised to work hard to keep her happy, still abuses her after hearing bad-mouthing by some old ladies. She finds herself practically imprisoned on the island. She was 3 months pregnant by the time a volcanic eruption occurred.

After exhausting all other possible ways to escape, she does a treacherous climb over the volcanic hill which had just purged magma. This is where the highlight of the movie, with its questioning of the silence of God, albeit for a short time, happens. Karin cannot understand why after going through so much in her life, running from place to place displayed by the war, losing her loved ones in her family, enduring sexual assaults in the war, she still found no freedom! The usually strong Karin symbolically loses one by one her luggage, referring to her self values, stripping her down to the bare minimum till she cries her heart, and the film ends with the outcome hanging in the air; whether she abandons her journey and returns to her husband or escapes to her freedom...