En passion (1969)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

28 May 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Andreas, a man struggling with the recent demise of his marriage and his own emotional isolation, befriends...

Plot Keywords:

Isolation | Couples | Snow | Nightmare | Sweden

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Max von Sydow	...	Andreas Winkelman
Liv Ullmann	...	Anna Fromm
Bibi Andersson	...	Eva Vergerus
Erland Josephson	...	Elis Vergerus
Erik Hell	...	Johan Andersson
Sigge Fürst	...	Verner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Britta Brunius	...	Woman in dream
Lars-Owe Carlberg	...	Police officer
Malin Ek	...	Woman in dream
Barbro Hiort af Ornäs	...	Woman in dream
Svea Holst	...	Verner's wife
Marianne Karlbeck	...	Woman in dream
Annika Kronberg	...	Katarina
Brita Öberg	...	Woman in dream
Brian Wikström	...	Police officer

Also Known As:

A Passion (UK)
The Passion of Anna (USA)

Runtime:

101 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:Unrated | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:12 (video rating) (2004) (cut) | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company:

Cinematograph AB

Trivia:

Dinner scene between the four characters is mostly improvised

Movie Connections:

References Skammen (1968)

It's wonderful to see a film made with such care

This is par for the course with Bergman, though. I have enjoyed all of his films that I've seen, which I admit is not many. This one touched me even more deeply than the others.

The topics touched on in this film include isolation, truth in relationships, mob mentality, but most importantly isolation from an emotional point of view. The interviews with the actors that are spliced into the film provide insight as well as divisions between sections of the narrative.

Perhaps what I liked best, however, is the inventive way the script reveals elements of the story. Sometimes a voice-over provides necessary information, and other times the information comes through the characters' conversations -- but never in an annoying "quick exposition" kind of way. For example: Although the affair between Anna and Andreas is the central story, it shows up in an odd place in the film.

But that is just one of the examples of the unusual construction that makes this film so unique and masterful. I recommend this to anyone who can read subtitles.