Description:
Distinguished lawyer Frederik Egerman lives with Anne, his picturesque, young wife, his son Henrik, a forlorn student of the cloth, and Petra, the flirtatious yet sensible maid. One summer evening Frederik takes Anne to see a play starring his former lover Desirée, the veteran actress with an equally seasoned reputation. With her glamorous stage entrance and one inviting smile, she sparks the lives of the parties involved into a game of love and loyalty that barely masks each player's percolating insecurities. Through witty dialogue, theatrical direction, and an ensemble cast, director Ingmar Bergman delivers a raw exhibition o
Distinguished lawyer Frederik Egerman lives with Anne, his picturesque, young wife, his son Henrik, a forlorn student of the cloth, and Petra, the flirtatious yet sensible maid. One summer evening Frederik takes Anne to see a play starring his former lover Desirée, the veteran actress with an equally seasoned reputation. With her glamorous stage entrance and one inviting smile, she sparks the lives of the parties involved into a game of love and loyalty that barely masks each player's percolating insecurities. Through witty dialogue, theatrical direction, and an ensemble cast, director Ingmar Bergman delivers a raw exhibition of human desire.
Ingmar Bergman achieved international stardom with this classic melancholy comedy about the romantic entanglements of three 19th-century couples during a weekend at a country estate. It's exactly what you'd expect from a bedroom farce filtered through the ideas and eyes of Bergman: sharp, serious, pensive, austerely sexy, and ultimately sobering. Still, anyone who thought the Swedish filmmaker was incapable of a little fun has only to watch Bergman's orchestrations of these dangerous liaisons. Prosperous lawyer Fredrik (Gunnar Björnstrand) is married to the comely young Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), who (despite his best efforts) remains a virgin. Henrik (Björn Bjelfvenstam), Fredrik's grown son from a previous marriage, is desperately in love with Anne--and having an affair with the maid (Harriet Andersson)--despite the torturings of his pious soul. When actress Desiree (Eva Dahlbeck), Fredrik's former mistress, breezes into town, Fredrick pays her a visit, only to find himself jealous of her relationship with the piggish Count Malcolm (Jarl Kulle), who just happens to be married to Anne's best friend, the depressed and suicidal Charlotte (Margit Carlqvist); both women have a decided bone to pick with Desiree. All convene at the estate of Desiree's mother for a weekend of confrontations, illicit romance, dinner, dueling, and eventual pairing with the right romantic partner. Bergman winningly conveys the aspects of love among both the young and the old--those who feel they'll live forever and those whose impending mortality colors their actions. Absolutely brilliant and heartfelt, a true cinematic masterpiece. The basis for Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, of "Send in the Clowns" fame. --Mark Englehart
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Manufacturer: Criterion
Release date: 25 May 2004
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 9780780028715 UPC: 037429193921
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