BEFORE: I'm going to go for it, watch as many Bergman films as I can this week, the extra ones I have access to, thanks to HBO Max - because who knows, I may not be able to pass this way again. So it will be the four films I had on my DVR from late 2019, a fifth that TCM ran about a month ago, and then four more from HBO Max. Nine films in seven days? I must be insane. But, then again, this might be a good time for the Bergman marathon, I'm thinking - cold weather, Seasonal Affected Disorder, endless (?) lockdown, and all the existential angst caused by the pandemic, death and unemployment all around. Plus the political landscape right now, that's a whole other hornet's nest of misery and uncertainty. Plus, what the hell else do I have to do right now?
This makes four-in-a-row (quatt-row) for Max von Sydow, I don't think he'll be here tomorrow but he'll be back one more time on Thursday - when I think I'll have to do another double feature to finish January on track.
THE PLOT: Recently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family at their island home, only to slip away from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.
AFTER: We were re-watching "Blazing Saddles" a week or two ago, and though it's still a very funny movie, it's also a little sad for me because of how many actors from that film are now deceased - Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeleine Kahn, Harvey Korman - it's basically everybody, except for Mel Brooks and Burton Gilliam. I mean, in a way they're immortal because they appeared in this comedy classic, and at least they'll always be remembered, but it seemed like every year we lost another one - David Huddleston in 2016, John Hillerman in 2017, and some of the cast was old when they MADE the movie, so there's no way they're still around now.
Going back to the older Bergman films, there's that same kind of feeling - I think maybe the Germans must have a word for a movie where the entire cast is now confirmed to be no longer alive...I'll have to check if "The Seventh Seal" qualifies, since Bibi Andersson died in 2019 and Max von Sydow in 2020. But today's film is NOT one of those films, Harriet Andersson is still alive, she turns 89 this year on Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, the last surviving Munchkin from "The Wizard of Oz", Jerry Maren, died in 2018 at the age of 98.
This topic is the bread and butter of Bergman's genre, I think. Everybody's getting older, and they've completed 50 years of medical service, or they still haven't written that best-selling novel, or they want to know whether God exists, and they can feel that time is running out. Does God exist? If so, what kind of a God allows us to feel so cold and so emotionally distant from everybody else? And is there more to life than putting out the fishing nets, taking the boat into town to pick up groceries, then bringing in the nets at the end of the day? OK, sure, there are good things about life to enjoy, like fresh milk and strawberries, plus a good brisk morning swim, but what about the bigger, unanswered questions?
"Through a Glass Darkly" features Karin, a woman who's been unwell, we don't really understand her "condition" at first, is it a physical ailment, or is it more like madness? Did she have a breakdown or what? It turns out that she imagines that she talks to God - which is a form of madness, especially when God appears to her in the form of a giant spider. Her husband tries to take good care of her, but he simply can't watch her around the clock, not when the fishing nets have to be put out and he's got to take the boat into town for supplies. Her father's also dealing with the fact that her condition is incurable, but he deals with it by trying to work the situation into the novel he's writing. (Also, Dad reveals he once tried to kill himself by driving off a cliff.) And her little brother is at that awkward teen stage where he's curious about girls but also kind of hates them - plus he wishes he could just have one conversation with his father about anything. Curse these emotionally distant Swedes!
During a thunderstorm, and while her father and husband are out on the fishing boat, Karin is left alone with her younger brother, Minus. And she crosses a line - they couldn't really talk about such subjects in a 1961 movie, but we can assume they had some form of sexual contact. And that's the tipping point, Karin determines she can't handle the real world and needs to be hospitalized. Once she leaves by ambulance helicopter, Dad and Minus hope that their love for Karin can help sustain her - perhaps God is love, or love is God, and love is all around. Minus also got his wish, a conversation with Dad! Achievement unlocked!
This was filmed on the island of Faro (not to be confused with the Faroe Islands...), where Bergman later lived in isolation, much like one of his characters. There are just four actors, unlike some of his other films that had huge ensembles - but don't worry, everything's still going to connect. Bergman's inspiration was a woman he had lived with when he was younger, who said she heard voices telling her to do things. We get it, Ingmar, the crazy ones are always the least sexually inhibited ones, but you need a more stable partner in the long run. Bergman also had diary notes about visiting his parents on an island - so probably von Sydow's character here is the stand-in for Bergman himself, right? Because he dedicated the film to his wife (Karin was his mother's name, though, hmmm....).
Also starring Harriet Andersson (last seen in "Dogville"), Gunnar Björnstrand (also carrying over from "Wild Strawberries"), Lars Passgard.
RATING: 5 out of 10 creaky floors
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