Swedish Cinema

In a garishly decorated basement room of a tawdry, erotic cabaret, amidst the ambient pulsating, rhythmic drone of risqué music, an impassive prostitute nicknamed Ka (Rita Russek) embraces a solemn and diffident client, Peter Egermann (Robert Atzorn), caressing his face through the motions of sleep. The seemingly tender moment soon inexplicably turns to aggression when… read more »

Autumn Sonata is a provocative, moving, and intensely honest film about the complexity of familial relationships. Eva (Liv Ullman), a timid and reserved wife of a country parson, invites her mother, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman), to stay with her after a seven year separation. Charlotte is a concert pianist, whose career has dictated prolonged separations from… read more »

Cries and Whispers is a powerful, richly textured exploration of the human soul. The story is set on a remote country house, stripped from the distractions of the outside world (the only “guest” is an attending physician). Agnes (Harriet Andersson) is a terminally ill woman who is cared for by her two sisters: Karin (Ingrid… read more »

Persona is arguably Ingmar Bergman’s most challenging and experimental film. Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullman) is an accomplished stage actress who, in the middle of performing Elektra, ceases to speak. Sister Alma (Bibi Andersson), the young nurse assigned to care for her, learns that there is nothing physically or even psychologically wrong with Elisabeth – she… read more »

Three passengers suffocate in the sweltering heat of a confining train cabin, traveling through a foreign country, seemingly on the brink of war: a fragile translator, Esther (Ingrid Thulin), her sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom), and Anna’s son Johan (Jorgen Lindstrom). Suffering from a bronchial attack, Esther checks into a hotel room, with Anna and Johan… read more »

The order of mass is methodically performed before a dwindling congregation: a school teacher, Marta (Ingrid Thulin), a troubled parishioner, Jonas Persson (Max von Sydow) and Jonas’ wife, Karin (Gunnel Lindblom). But the ritual no longer holds any significance for its messenger, pastor Tomas (Gunnar Bjornstrand), who has a crisis of faith. Note several framed… read more »

Four people emerge from the austere horizon, heading for the shore of a seemingly desolate island: a successful writer, David (Gunnar Bjornstrand), his adolescent son, Minus (Lars Passgard), his fragile daughter, Karin (Harriet Andersson), and Karin’s husband, Martin (Max von Sydow). Surrounded by her family, Karin is brought to the remote island in order to… read more »

In the darkness of a breaking dawn, a lascivious, unmarried, expectant woman named Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom) dispassionately performs her morning ritual: preparing a fire on the stove, opening the roof door in order to allow the daylight to stream in, invoking the Norse god Odin in an envious and vengeful plea. In another room, the… read more »

Wild Strawberries captures the thoughtful and compassionate side of Ingmar Bergman rarely seen in his films. It is the story of an aging man’s introspective journey on the meaning of his life, and inevitability of death. Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom) is compiling his memoirs in preparation for an honorary degree that he is to… read more »