Life, a living hell?

Prison (Fängelse, 1949)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Another early offering #6 from Bergman. It is a short film which has a very dark background, setting and story-wise, noir like. It is precursor to many of his later movie with dark themes like the silence of God, mental illness and the uncertainty of life. Here, it looks at the trappings of life.

A movie shooting is in progress. The director's old Maths professor who had just been released from mental asylum meets him to propose his bizarre story for consideration to be made into a film. The story narrates how Satan comes to Earth to declare it as Hell itself! The team politely declines the story. The happenings over the next few days actually makes everyone thinking. Perhaps, life on Earth is already a living Hell!

Tomas, a screenwriter, of late has been consuming more and more alcohol than he should. During one of his stuporous states, he suggested to his fiancé they should commit suicide together! Startled, the fiancé bolts for her life after knocking him out with the end of a wine bottle.

On the other side of town, a young prostitute, Birgitta, is pregnant. Her guardian promises to gives the baby for adoption. Birgitta is tormented in her guilt but feels helpless to expunge herself from her predicament. She longs for her lost childhood.

The baby was never given for adoption but was killed by Birgitta's pimp boyfriend and his partner. The police picks up the cue and are hot on her trail.

Tomas and Birgitta meet along the way. They find that they get along well but certain old memories from her past still torments her. The image of her dead child haunts her. She runs away from Tomas decides to continue her routine life.

The film crew realise that perhaps there is truth in the Maths professor's prophecy. Life on Earth has became tough for some, a real living Hell.

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Slip sliding away...

Face to Face (Swedish; 1976)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
This is a painstakingly slow film about an extremely difficult topic, of mental illness.
A psychiatrist, Dr Jenny Isaksson, comes to stay with her grandparents after her husband, also a psychiatrist, goes on a long conference. She had lost both her parents during her childhood to be cared by her grandparents.
Her grandfather is having senile dementia whilst the grandmother goes out of her way to care for her partner.
The environment of the house rekindled her suppressed childhood memories to ignite an episode of mental disorder that becomes quite debilitating, affecting her duties as a doctor, mother to her daughter and herself.
It shows the intricacies of a breakdown. It is difficult to pinpoint events that lead to it. In a world where we like to put a name to any disease and go down to the bottom of it, it makes us wonder if there is anything (or do we know everything) about this dreaded irritant. There seem no shortcut to put this ailment at bay. It is a case of the body being willing but not the mind. Individuals inflicted with worse life situations and misery somehow come out unscathed and in stronger form whilst others just keep slip sliding down the slippery pit of hopelessness and helplessness.

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?

On motherhood...

Nara Livet [1958, Swedish; Brink of Life(US), So Close to life(UK)]

Director: Ingmar Bergman

A drama which earned 1958 Cannes award for Best director and awards for Best Actress (all three main characters), this is a story of the concept of having children, the guilt, the acceptance and the problems associated with them. 

It narrates the occurrences in the maternity ward over a span of a day. 

Not every child is born in the world wanted, sometimes their loss wrecks relationship, other times so much hope is placed on them which leads to disappointed when expectation is not met!

The film starts with Cecilia Ellius, at three months' pregnancy being wheeled in to the ward after experiencing bleeding. A guilt stricken Cecilia has a miscarriage and blames herself for her predicament. She never wanted the child in the first place. Her husband too, in midst of completing his thesis was not really ready.

Mr and Mrs Ellius' relationship take a dive for the worst and are contemplating separation.

Cecilia, not a young person, feels that she is not fit to be a mum. She feels that at her age, solitude and loneliness just suits her fine.

Sharing her same room are two expectant mothers; Stinas Andersson, a first timer who had way past her due date and is waiting for the baby to pop out and Hjördis Petterson, a unmarried teenager whose boyfriend takes no responsibility of her pregnancy.

Stinas and her husband are so excited to receive the addition to the family and have made plans for the newborn. During visiting hours, the Anderssons discuss the baby's room and the paraphernalia that needs to be added.

Hjördis, on the other hand, was admitted as she was unwell and some time more to deliver. She is generally a frustrated young lady. She had left her mother's house as she could not see eye to eye with her. Her mother was displeased with her behaviour and they had parted on bad terms. Now, at ends' wit and lack of cash, she yearns to go back home but has no courage to face her mother.

In the meantime, later that night, Stinas goes into labour. Unfortunately, her big plans came tumbling. Complications during labour ended with untimely demise of loved child.

Hjördis laments her condition to the welfare officer who, herself subfertile, feels happy for her being pregnant and discouraged her to undergo a termination. Hjördis herself cannot understand she should be happy with her pregnancy as she has been a disappointment to everyone around her.

Along the movie, the three ladies do communicate and give each other support. Cecilia coaxes Hjördis to call her mother for encouragement. She picks up some courage to call her and to her astonishment she willingly asks her to return home. Together, they were going to usher the newborn.

Cecilia's problem is also solved when her sister-in-law gives her some words of wisdom. She resolves to mend her relationship with her kind husband.

Stina, on the other hand, was sleeping her woes away when the film ended.

It is all a package!

Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten, Swedish;1978)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

How long can you go on blaming your parents for your behaviour, misbehaviour and emotional wellbeing? Sure, they provided the building blocks upon which you blobbed up to a multi-billion celled organism but did they not undergo all that psyche and physique altering 9 months. Then there were the phenomena of maternalistic instinct and the ever embracing comfortable bosoms that she provided. What about the story of the mother and the burning house? She would rush in to grab you from the raging fire even when the beam of the house is in the verge of collapse and even jump into a lake without knowing to swim, just to save you.

And the sleepless days and nights caring for you during your time of being under the weather. All these were done without any expectations of return. Now, you are big and strong and you blame all your failures and underachievements on her. And you say that it was not your choice to be born but your parents had a choice...

Bergman's movies as always make you think about life and you end up more confused than ever as there are no self-help and no directions in the voyage of life.

This film is the ramblings of a daughter to her seemingly aloof mother on the turn of events in her recent life and the horrible childhood that she had. Eva (Liv Ullman) is living with her pastor husband (Victor) in a lonely home and in a loveless relationship. Eva invites her mother, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman), to stay with her after the demise of her partner.
Charlotte, a renowned pianist, spend a lot of time during Eva's childhood away performing much to the chagrin of little Eva. The lonely days that Eva spent with her father, a quiet man, resulted in her in having a resentment to her mother. During the time the mother is back home, she is too busy practising for hours on end. Eva also has a sister, Helena, who has been inflicted with some neurological condition needing constant care, whom she feels her mother had abandoned when she left her in a nursing home.


Being constantly left alone, Eva had apparently befriended a guy who impregnated her. Charlotte decided that this would not do for an 18year old lass. The ensuing termination further infuriated the young mind against her mother.
Charlotte, this time around, has to face the bitter truth of reckoning. She finds that Eva had taken the severely handicapped Helena into her home to care for. Charlotte had to answer to her now-grown daughter, after staying away for 10 years. She had to 'face the music' to all her actions or inactions.
On her defence, Charlotte had to bring in the money and the joy and the attention that she received at the keys. Eva's marriage had also become unhappy after the drowning of her 4year old boy.

This showdown did not really end with a kiss-and-all forgotten kind of finale, however.
After the confrontation, the mother left the house after facing the demons. She is quite happy just corresponding with her daughter. Absence does not really make the heart grow fonder. Out of sight, out of mind is more like it. Time heals.

We do not choose our relationships, we do not choose to be born. The relationships and bonds that come to us can good, bad or ugly. It is up to us to sieve the favourable to the undesired ones and make the best that what life has in store for us...

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Symbolism of life...

Persona (Swedish, 1966)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
A highly complex film which showcases the human emotions in a rather abstract manner. Viewers of left to interpret the story in their own way.
It starts with Elizabeth, a famous theatre actress who is brought in to the psychiatric ward after she just went blank during a performance and just refused to speak afterwards. Sister Alma is assigned by the psychiatrist to get close to her and tries to get to the root of her problem. All the while, Elizabeth does not talk, refuses to talk when spoken to. She does her own things, she reads, watches TV etcetera. She is visibly shaken by violence shown on TV - self immolation of a monk in Vietnam, pictures of Auschwitz. In the meanwhile, Sr Alma seem to be talking all the time revealing a lot about herself. She is engaged to be married soon to a doctor. Secretly, in her bed, Alma is grateful with her life, apparently complete and soon to have a few kids. Within the next second, she questions herself whether that is what she really wants.
One day, Elizabeth receives a letter with the picture of her son in it. She is disturbed and tears it away.
The psychiatrist in charge suggests a beach bungalow for Elizabeth's recovery. Sister Alma accompanies her there.
Things improve there. Elizabeth becomes more chirpy, they do things together and they get close. It is only Alma who speaks all the time whilst the patient remains mute. In an evening, after too much of drinks, Alma confides in non talking Elizabeth some of her inner secrets -  her one time impulsive infidelity, her pregnancy and her clandestine termination of pregnancy. And Alma breaks down. Wait! It looks like the role had reversed; Alma the confused and Elizabeth the silent listener.
The next day, life goes on as if nothing happened. In fact, on the night previously, Elizabeth had broken her silence but Alma was too drunk to appreciate. Elizabeth passed some letters for Alma to post. Unable to resist her temptation, Alma sneaks into an unsealed letter to find a letter to her doctor telling about Alma's health condition instead. Realizing and angry that she is being psychoanalyzed, a cat and mouse game starts. Alma tries to hurt Elizabeth and abhors her silence.
Then, in the next bizarre scene (dream scene?), somebody calls for Elizabeth. It is supposed to be Elizabeth's husband and he starts talking to Alma and becomes quite passionate with her right in front of Elizabeth!
The climax of the movie is a scene which is repeated, each showing each character's facial expression as Alma delivers a monologue. In this scene, both actresses look almost alike at their faces are superimposed. Elizabeth is accused to be a renowned theatrical icon who cannot leave the limelight of the stage but the inner desire to fulfill her need to conceive. When she actually conceived, she realized that the mistake she has made- the change in body shape, size and absence from work etcetera. She tried unsuccessfully to abort the child and secretly hope the child would be a stillbirth. The child was born after a long difficult labour. The cry of the newborn was torturous to her that she left the child to be cared by relatives to continue her work in the theatre! And that is when she had that catatonic episode!
Alma behaves in a way unbecoming of a person of the medical profession. She physically abuses Elizabeth. Looks like that they had switched roles - the healer and the patient!
In the next scene, Alma leaves the retreat alone with her luggage on a bus. The camera rolls on towards the ground. We are left to wonder whether the nurse buried her patient!
This film is full of symbolism. It is supposed to show the eternal conflict that broils within an individual. It is something like the constant fight between Id, Ego and Super-Ego or the battle between the conscious and sub-conscious! Alma and Elizabeth are one and the same individual. Elizabeth is internal core of a person and Alma signifies the external appearance (persona) of a person that always changes and this film is a study of introspection of one's self!
If it sounds very complicated, you should watch it and draw your conclusion.

What Man wants?

En Passion (The Passion, Swedish; 1969)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

As the camera rolls in, the loneliness of the protagonist is made apparent. He is only greeted with the sounds of birds, winds and nature. There are no company of people for miles around, and the weather is not so refreshing. This is the backdrop of the start of this film which, one questions the very things that all individuals ask after they have achieved a certain level in life. They lay down specific guidelines for people around them to follow, and the boundary is breached; they cannot accept it, and pandemonium is the order of the day. People around them, affected by them, who long for their companion, who look at them for guidance and love, are the direct victims of their actions. If this explanation sounds confusing, watch it yourself and draw your conclusions. Answers in life are neither black nor white; they come in shades of grey.

Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow, a regular in Bergman's films) is a lonely divorcee leading his own lonely life himself where his only company is solitude and sounds of nature. He does his personal things at his own snail's pace. His occasional acquaintance is bronchitic cart pulling man, Sigge, with a prior stint at the mental asylum.
On one fateful day, a visitor from his friend's (Eva and Elis) home (Anna, Liv Ullman, another regular feature in Bergman's films) comes in using his phone as the friend's line was out of order. Andreas eavesdrops on the emotional conversation where she spills her emotion to her ex-husband about money issues.

Anna leaves the house in a hurry, leaving her handbag behind. Anna had allegedly been involved in a nasty accident 3 months previously where her husband and son had perished, and she needed multiple surgeries and was walking with crutches.

The curious Andreas took the liberty to look into the handbag to discover a letter from her husband about her dogmatic attitudes, their incompatibility and separation.
Andreas' friends Eva and Elis have problems of their own. Eva is a chronic insomniac who never got over her previous miscarriage, and her marital bed has been unkindled for a mighty long time. Elis is a keen photographer who is inspired by snapping emotions. Andreas becomes his model.

On the side, the village has a spate of cruel killings and snaring of animals. Bewildered on the perpetrator's identity, the accusing hands of the villagers pointed at Sigge because of his past mental condition. Constant threat and harassment pushed him to suicide, only for the mindless killing to continue even after his demise!

How do human emotions push us to do the unthinkable?

Andreas befriends Anna. After an initial good going, both expressed insecurity and resentment towards each other. Andreas felt freedom in his solitude. Anna's deception about her spouse was uncovered- they divorced! They finally went separate ways, just as the way before.

The take-home message that I draw from here is that one should not be so egoistic in only wanting to attain self-gratification to his own content. Perhaps he should look around at all the good things he has around him and make the best available - less pain, more to gain. Well, it worked well for generations before us! Or maybe being dogmatic, steadfast in our beliefs and set in doing things in a way and insisting on others to do it may just push us off our or others' minds? 

What war does to man?

Skammen (Swedish, Shame; 1968)
Director: Ingmar Bergman

Another powerful anti-war movie by master film maker which shows the emotional impact of war on human behaviour and relationship. There are many untold subtle messages in the movie that are left to viewers' discretion. And it does aim to solve any of world problems!
Jan and Eva Rosenberg are a childless couple of 7 years' marriage who probably decided to leave the city life, as the were instrument players in the philharmonic orchestra, to live a quiet life near to nature in a lonely island. War, probably civil war, is looming with the sight of flying fighter planes and sounds of gunshots.
The film starts off depicting Jan as a unstable guy who needs prodding and suggestion. Eve, the wife, seem to be losing her patience with his indecision but loves him still the same.
They carry on life, supplying produce to clients. The talk around village is the worsening of war. Many are drafted into army, reluctantly. Jan is exempted for health reasons, with is not told to us.
The passion between the couple is depicted not so much as physical lust but rather small talks about the plans for future, seeing a doctor for fertility and the like.
The war draws near. Fighter planes are seen over their roof and bombs are dropped. The paratrooper is trapped on a tree. Arguments start between them to save him - Jan fearing of being shot and Eve on saving a dying man.
The Rosenbergs were on the brink of leaving their home when enemy soldier intercept them. The faint-hearted Jan faints at sight of soldier, derailing their plan. As the shower of gunpowder continue their shower around the vicinity, the couple make another dash to safety but in vain as their path is blocked by death and destruction. They return home to be accompanied by a barrage of bomb blasts all through the night.
The following morning, they were apprehended by the army for helping the paratroopers. They were interrogated. An acquaintance, Jacobi, a powerful figure in the army releases them. He keeps on visiting them at home with gifts and favours. Jacobi's relationship is more of manipulative than cordial. The Rosenberg's relationship slowly crumbles; with Eva accusing Jan of not standing up and Eva of fawning all over him!
Jacobi even beds the young wife for a bundle of cash! When the army questions Jacobi for corruption, he tries to pay off but the money had been pocketed by Jan.

Jacobi is placed in the firing squad and Jan is ordered to fire the first shot. The usually meek Jan obliges.
With the whole house burnt down by the army, the Rosenberg decide to hitch a boat ride to the mainland with Jacobi's money. We can see Eva slowly crumble under the turn of events. Paradoxically, Jan takes over the rein and takes charge.
The boat that they travel has engine failure and the occupants of the boat float aimlessly with dehydration as the the captain commits suicide due to hopelessness...

How Man maintains his sanity?

The Virgin Spring (Swedish: Jungfrukällan) 1960
Director: Ingmar Bergman

Yet another movie questioning the silence of God on the happenings of daily life in the Ingmar Bergman fashion. This time it is set in medieval Sweden. I suppose it was the time when the people there are just exposed to the modern religion of Christianity and slowly trying to learn the mysterious ways that He works and trying to understand why.

It is at a time when they are some, usually the underprivileged and the powerless with less clout in society, who are still hoping for their pagan Norse deity Odin to release them from their miseries. In essence, the Christian God seems to be the possession of the bourgeois!

A rich Christian man's maiden daughter, Karin, is assigned to send candles to a church on horseback with her pagan maid. Along the way, they go separate ways. Karin continues the journey alone. Along the way, she bumps into three goatherd brothers. The kindhearted Karin offers them food. After taking her food, the elder two of the savage brothers mercilessly raped and killed her. They ripped her off her expensive tunics and scooted off. This event was watched by the maid but was too stunned to do anything. She just made herself home as if nothing happened.

After a few days, the goatherds who were wondering about took shelter at the rich man's shack, unknown to the visitors of the real owners of the house.

After feeding their visitors, the host discovers their guests' true identity. In a fit of rage, the father kills all three of the brothers.

The entourage of father, mother, maid finally make it to the site of the slain maiden. The grief-stricken father, obviously remorseful of hasty actions has a one on one monologue with God. This is the climax of the movie. He argues for the reason for the silence of God when the goatherds murdered her child and when he lost his cool seeking vengeance. At the end of the uncertainty, he, like what most mortals would do, decided that he would instead build a magnificent church at the site of the death of his daughter. As if like an auspicious symbol, when the dead girl's remains are lifted, the spring emerges from the earth beneath. The attendees cleanse their faces with it, giving piety to the whole idea.

The message I gather is that we, only feel frustrated by daily turns of events, blame and question God on his action and somewhat lack of, accept that He knows best, carry on glorifying Him and take things as they are...

That is the story of how Man maintains his sanity on life over the years in spite of all the calamities that he faces day in and day out...

A devilish comedy

The Devil's Eye (Djävulens öga, Swedish; 1960)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Another one of  Ingmar Bergman's dry comedy where the audience is not expected to laugh his belly out. It is again a jibe at religion, his favorite topic, this time at Heaven and particularly Hell. It is presented in a play format with three acts and an epilogue.
Satan has a stye on his right eye and it could only be one thing. The vicar's daughter is to marry as a virgin.So Satan sends Don Juan, the master fornicator on a mission to seduce the 20 year old girl. In return, Don Juan's term in Hell would be reduced by 300 years!
Don has 24 hours to complete his mission and arrives on Earth with his faithful butler, Pablo.
After gaining entry to the Vicar's household after building a rapport after a staged car breakdown. Pablo, deprived by the pleasures of the flesh for so many years falls head over heels over the ailing and sexually neglected Vicar's wife.
The Vicar's daughter, Marie, is all smitten by her husband-to-be and is quite confident of her love that she flirts with Don.

Satan with a stye

By the turn of night, the Vicar's home goes into shambles - the wife is bedded by Pablo. Using the Vicar's earlier said promise that he would love her no matter what, she continues her life with her husband as a good wife in spite of the one time infidelity.
Marie mellows down to feel for Don but Don become a helpless romantic! He returns to Hell with  failed mission to deflower the maiden. Satan is furious but his stye is cured later when Marie lies to her husband!
A film with many punches against the institution of marriage. To quote: There is one which the reason Hell exists and it is due to marriage.

Swedish masala

Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende, Swedish; 1955)
Written and Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

One romantic comedy set in early 20th century Sweden. It tells the story of 4 couples engaged in a twisted love affair. First, there is a 50year old advocate, Fredrik Egerman, who is married to a 19 year old Anne. He was a widower and and has a 18 year old son, Henrik, who is a confused lad who is trying very hard to be celibate to join priesthood. He is teased by his promiscuous  maid, Petra.

Fredrik and Anne's matrimony had not been consummated despite 2 years of union. Meanwhile, Fredrik meets up with his ex-girlfriend, stage actress Desiree Armfeldt.

Whilst in Desiree's bedroom, her current boyfriend, a hormoned raged soldier, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm walks to his wrath. A tiff ensues. Fredrik leaves but Desiree ends her relationship with the Count.

The enraged Count tells his ever loving wife, Charlotte, Anne's friend about Fredrik's infidelity. Charlotte then tells her friend Anne.

Meanwhile, Desiree and her mother plan a dinner for the Egermans, Count and Countess in conjunction with mid Summer night, the shortest night in summer. What happens next is a series of mix ups. Petra, the flirty maid, pairs up with Armfeldt's burly butler.  Henrik, who always the soft spot for his step mother, beds her and she is deflowered! The couple elope with the help of the maid. The Countess who made a challenge to be able to seduce Fredrik at the dinner is spotted by the Count. The Count challenges Fredrik for a duel in a deadly game of Russian Roulette.

Fredrik fires on his second attempt only to discover that he had been duped. The gun was only loaded with soot!

In the end, the Count and Countess are reunited. Fredrik continues his relationship with Desiree. Everybody is happy. The End.

Effect of too much restriction?

The Silence (Tystnaden, Swedish; 1963)

Written and Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Concluding Bergman's trilogy of faith is this movie about two sisters and a 10 year old boy. Again, this is another movie which would make you wonder the direction the film is taking, initially. Unlike its predecessors, this one does not question religious faith, but rather the faith on how we should lead our lives.

It starts with Ester, a sickly lady with paroxysms of cough and breathlessness, her sister Anna who is stylish but appears to be irritated with her sister. There is Anna's son, Johan, who seems to be in his own world looking and learning all the  things around him. They seem to be travelling in a train in a foreign country.

At a hotel, Ester is still ill but she still refuses to see a doctor but instead buries her sorrows in vodka and cigarette. Anna is busy with self immersion, immersed in a bath and getting dressed for a piece of action in the new town. The town is in brinks of war with sounds of shell blasting being heard. Johan is happy absorbing things around him like a sponge. He makes acquaintance with a group of Spanish dwarfs who are staying in the same hotel. Then there is a old butler who takes a liking to Johan, even though they do not understand each other and do not speak each other's language.

On and off, Ester, does her work of translating documents. Anna goes on her walk about and makes contact with a waiter in a brasserie. Then, the stories starts making sense. Anna comes back to the room to boast to her sister on her sexual escapades!

The way I make of the story is that Ester who is the elder of the two had been taking care of Anna and had been set in her ways and how life should be lived. Anna, the rebel, had to follow unwillingly. She lived by Ester's rules which were as methodical as her line of work, a translator. Now that Ester is weak and powerless, it is her time of revenge. We start to wonder Anna's child is illegitimate.
Ester, I think, also has aversion to men.
After a big showdown between the sisters over a Anna's casual sexual contact, Anna and Johan leaves the hotel heading home, leaving Ester alone in the room.

What the story teller is trying to say is that we can only impart our values so much to the our wards. Everyone have their own values and eventually choose their place of comfort.

Cubed by belief

Winter Lights (Nattvardsgästerna, Communicants, Swedish; 1962)
Written and Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

This offering by the Swedish master filmmaker dwells on the topic God and our belief, particularly that of the Christian faith. It is his second instalment in his trilogy of 'Trilogy of Faith'. Bergman allegedly based this story on happenings in his life. His father was a clergyman who had to fill in once for a sick pastor.
It is a highly intellectual movie that must be viewed with an open mind as it questions the concept of God and religion. In a developed culture/society, this type of intellectual discourse is allowed and encouraged. In fact, during the heights of many civilizations, these type of inter and intra-faith discussions were revered (e.g. Asoka's reign, Akbar of Mogul Empire, Ottoman Empire). Sadly, now people view it as blasphemous and are up in arms at the mention of contradiction to the scriptures.
It narrates the day's event of a man of God who is ambivalent of the purpose of his work and whether he is actually doing any good. There is his church with hardly any attendance, his members of his congregation who he thinks are sneering at him for illicit liaison with a teacher and the Pastor's inability to avert his member from suicide.

The whole movie is set in the chilling cold winters of a Swedish country side. If the slow pace of action does not drag you down, definitely the Nordic climate setting would. What more if you are watching it after a long hard day's work or run. I watched it a second time to savour the message it is trying to discuss. 

Pastor Tomas Ericksson is an anxious man of God who leads a local church which is attended by only a handful of worshippers. Amongst the crowd is his girlfriend, Marta, a nonbeliever who is just there because she loves him desperately and Mr & Mrs Jonas Persson. After the service, the couple approach Tomas to discuss Jonas' mental anguish and suicidal thoughts!

Tomas and Marta, even though are a couple, they do not seem to communicate very well. Tomas likes the attention that he gets from her and things that she does for him, bending over backwards but feels uncomfortable being with her, fearing what people would say about a man in his stature. He is generally unpleasant and berating to her. Hence, Marta expresses her feelings in a long letter. 

Meanwhile, the reverend, though being under the weather, has to run another service in a nearby village. 

Jonas, with whom Tomas had a disastrous counseling session, where the pastor ended up telling the mentally anguish listener about all his reservations about God, is found dead after an apparent suicide. 

In the counseling session, Tomas related to Jonas about the atrocities that he saw during The Spanish War and his inability to explain the silence of God in protecting the weak. Perhaps, people could be more accountable to their actions if they were no God!

After informing the widow of her husband's demise, he has a heart to heart showdown with his mistress. It appears that Tomas had not got over his wife's death and is still living in her memories. He likes Martha's care but keep comparing her to his wife and the good he had when she was around. He does not appreciate the baggage that came with Martha's acquaintance. On the other hand, he does not want to marry her as he still loves his dead wife. They finally just decided to just continue the status quo and the love-hate relationship. They drive together to the other church.

There, Rev. Ericksson engages in another discussion with the sexton (caretaker), Algot. Algot, who moves around with an abnormal gait and a bad spine after an accident in the railways, suggested that perhaps people were emphasizing on the pain suffered by Jesus. As far as he was concerned, Algot, after his accident had been suffering much more pain and longer than the 4hours that He had stayed on the cross. The real suffering of Jesus would have been the uncertainty and silence of God. The fact that He is the Son of God and had been advocating his teachings with his supposedly faithful disciples who had all disappeared. The uncertainty that he had been abandoned by God and that his teachings would all be a lie. That is the real suffering. 

After all that soul searching and renouncement from his work, Tomas Ericksson just continued his service to an empty church...

Teenage Swedish love

Sommaren med Monika (Summer with Monika, 1953; Swedish)
Ingar Bergman is a reputable director who holds a special place in the hearts of film makers like Satyajit Ray, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and even Spielberg and Ang Lee. This is the first of Bergmann's many movies that I have started watching. The reviews would come on rolling as I watch them one by one.
Being liberal in his outlook of protrayal of women in his movies, especially of Harriet Anderson with whom he had an intimate relationships, he manage to earn the stereotyping of Swedish films of being 'R' rated!
It starts with the usual fashion of any great film, with the help of black and white cinematography for romanticism, of the day to day hard work of our hero, of the working class section of Sweden toiling with his loaded tricycle. The protagonist, Harry, is in an unsatisfying job as a helper in a glassware shop manned by nagging supervisors and bosses. In a bar, he meets an outgoing girl, Monika, who seems to be quite friendly. She is living in a poor noisy neighbourhood with his drunk father in a small one room flat. After a tiff at her workplace and her father, she leaves home to meet Harry. Together, in Harry's father's boat, they spend the whole summer lazing around the islets near Stockholm. The seeming angelic dame slowly turns devilish and transforms into a demanding, nagging and almost hysterical witch! By then, she is pregnant and they decide to marry.
Marriage is no bed of roses. Monika is not prepared for motherhood whilst Harry tries to improve his family by attending night school. Monika still misses the care free life before meeting Harry. Things hit the ceiling when another man is caught in bed with her. Monika leaves home and Harry is left with his daughter. He moves on.....