Random Thoughts

Music in Darkness (Musik i mörker). Ingmar Bergman. 1948. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★.

Once again, Birger Malmsten stars, and like Lorens Marmstedt allegedly adviced Bergman two movies ago, “You have to remember that Birger Malmsten is no Jean Gabin”. He still isn’t, but he’s perfectly nice if somewhat uninspiring. (I just had a peek at Bergmans filmography, and it looks like Malmsten is going to star in an ungodly number of Bergman’s films.)

Gunnar Björnstrand pops up again, but Bergman had yet to establish his stable of, er, stable actors.

Once again, Bergman adapts a melodrama based on an existing work. The previous two films were based on plays, but this one is based on a novel, which you would assume would give Bergman a wider range of possibilities. And this one is less like a filmed play, but it’s still pretty uninteresting.

As usual for this time period, just watching the actors is pretty entertaining, especially Mai Zetterling, Björnstrand and Naima Wifstrand (who would go on to appear in half a dozen more Bergman films).

Bergman sure likes having his female actors running around naked. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

(*cough* Weinstein *cough*)

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

A Ship Bound For India (Skepp till India land). Ingmar Bergman. 1947. ⭐⭐⭐★★★.

You can say many things about this film, but you can’t really claim that the DVD transfer is very satisfactory. It’s grainy and uneven as fuck, but perhaps that just reflects the unrestored original film…

As would come to be common in Bergman films, we get some return actors from his previous film. Unfortunately, it’s not as good as that one. The cinematography is pretty bad and the story doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. There are some enjoyable performances, of course, and some Bergman ticks start showing up (theatre performances and clowns and stuff)…

But mostly forgettable.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

It Rains On Our Love (Det regnar på vår kärlek). Ingmar Bergman. 1946. ⭐⭐⭐⭐★★.

Now we’re getting somewhere. This in a different league from the two previous films.

It’s based on a play written by a Norwegian guy, but, still, it’s a pretty good story. Very time-appropriate.

It’s got a nice flow, and Gunnar Björnstrand shows up in a small scene near the end. Björnstrand would go on to feature prominently in dozens of Bergman films, so it’s fun to see him pop up here. He’s wonderful here, too. “Proletarian ruffian!”

It’s a sweet film.

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.

Crisis (Kris). Ingmar Bergman. 1946. ⭐⭐⭐★★★.

Bergman’s directorial debut (if you don’t count the last scene of the previous film).

The introductory voice-over presents the film as “an everyday play… almost a comedy”. According to Swedish Wikipedia, the production was almost shut down, but the studio head gave Bergman a second chance and restarted the shooting from the start again. It bombed at the box office, and Berman himself allegedly called it “a magnificent failure”.

And it’s not a very distinct movie: I don’t think anybody would be able to guess that it’s a Bergman film if you were to blind test them on it. (Of course, then they’d only hear the dialogue, but I know what I mean.)

It’s a quite standard Swedish lighthearted film from the 40s, and as such it’s quite enjoyable, but it’s a rather choppy viewing experience. There are some really fascinating scenes (like at the train station), but long stretches of the film just bumbles along without much shape. (And the cinematography is rather indifferent.)

This post is part of the 87 Bergman Things series.