Cries & Whispers (1972)
"Viskningar och rop" (original title)

When a woman dying of cancer in turn-of-the century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin

Won 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Harriet Andersson	...	Agnes
Kari Sylwan	...	Anna
Ingrid Thulin	...	Karin
Liv Ullmann	...	Maria (and her mother)
Anders Ek	...	Isak, the priest
Inga Gill	...	Story teller
Erland Josephson	...	David, the doctor
Henning Moritzen	...	Joakim, Maria's husband
Georg Årlin	...	Fredrik, Karin's husband

Storyline

In turn-of-the-century Sweden, cancer-stricken, dying Agnes is visited in her isolated rural mansion by her sisters Karin and Maria. As Agnes' condition deteriorates and pain management becomes increasingly more difficult, fear and revulsion grip the sisters, who seem incapable of empathy, and Agnes' only comfort and solace comes from her maid Anna. As the end draws closer, long repressed feelings of grudging resentment and mistrust cause jealousy, selfishness, and bitterness between the siblings to surface.

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Plot Keywords:

mansion | turn of the century | dying | jealousy | pain | 

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Taglines:

A haunting and shattering film experience.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish German Danish

Release Date:

5 March 1973 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Cries and Whispers

Filming Locations:

Taxinge-Näsby estate, Mariefred, Södermanlands län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematograph AB, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mansion where the film was shot, Taxinge-Nasby, had not been inhabited for years, and the repainting of the walls with glossy red paint, and the half run-down condition of the place, meant that it had to be extensively renovated by the new caretakers.

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Quotes

David: Come over here Maria. Look at yourself in the mirror. You are beautiful... but you have changed. These days you cast rapid, calculating, sidelong glances. You're gaze used to be direct, open, and without any disguise. Your mouth is an expression of discontent and hunger. It used only to be soft. Your complexion has become pallid, you use make-up. Your fine, broad forehead now has four creases above each eyebrow... And this fine contour from the ear to the chin... it's no longer quite so evident...

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Connections

Featured in Liv Ullmann scener fra et liv (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Suite No. 5 for solo Cello in C Minor, 4th mvt 'Sarabande'"
by Johann Sebastian Bach
Played by Pierre Fournier

User Reviews

The Sounds Of Cries And Whispers Or A Study In Red

The idea of this film that is considered by many as Bergman's crown achievement came to him in his house at Faro where he lived by himself for sometime in a melancholy state of mind after a rather painful breakup. One image kept coming to him and it was a very vivid and persistent image of a red room (red walls, red furniture) and four women sitting at the window in the room and dressed by the fashion of the beginning of the 20th century. He could not shake the image out of his mind and he knew that the only way to deal with it would be to start writing about the women – who were they, what was their relationship, their lives, their fates?.. He also knew that should the movie be made of his writing, the dominating color of it would be red. Bergman talked with affection and gratitude about his friend and long time collaborator Swen Nykwist who spent many days creating the passionate haunting red world of "Cries and Whispers. The title came to Bergman from one of the reviews on a Mozart's sonata (he does not remember which one). The sonata was described as sounds of cries and whispers…

"Cries and Whispers" is about pain, death, love, lust, hate, and self-loathing. There are more than one scene in the film that I found unbearable, horrifying and depressing. In the same time, it is about beauty and power of life, every minute of it - how little we appreciated it until it is too late. Typical Bergman's subjects, Bergman's actresses giving amazing performances, strikingly beautiful – it even hurts your eyes cinematography by Sven Nykvist - typical Bergman's masterpiece - what less do we expect from him? I admire the brilliance of it: acting, cinematography, Bergman's simple but devastating approach to Death as an inevitable part of life. The ending is heartbreaking - with Harriet's face and her words from beyond the grave about appreciating every minute of life...

Powerful and devastating film.