Fanny and Alexander (1982)
"Fanny och Alexander" (original title)

Two young Swedish children experience the many comedies and tragedies of their family, the Ekdahls.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Pernilla Allwin, Bertil Guve, Börje Ahlstedt

Won 4 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pernilla Allwin	...	Ekdahlska huset - Fanny Ekdahl
Bertil Guve	...	Ekdahlska huset - Alexander Ekdahl
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Ekdahlska huset - Carl Ekdahl
Allan Edwall	...	Ekdahlska huset - Oscar Ekdahl
Ewa Fröling	...	Ekdahlska huset - Emilie Ekdahl
Gunn Wållgren	...	Ekdahlska huset - Helena Ekdahl (as Gun Wållgren)
Jarl Kulle	...	Ekdahlska huset - Gustav Adolf Ekdahl
Jan Malmsjö	...	Biskopsgården - Bishop Edvard Vergerus
Christina Schollin	...	Ekdahlska huset - Lydia Ekdahl
Kerstin Tidelius	...	Biskopsgården - Henrietta Vergerus
Emelie Werkö	...	Ekdahlska huset - Jenny Ekdahl
Marianne Aminoff	...	Biskopsgården - Blenda Vergérus
Sonya Hedenbratt	...	Ekdahlska huset - Aunt Emma
Svea Holst	...	Ekdahlska huset - Miss Ester
Kristina Adolphson	...	Ekdahlska huset - Siri

Storyline

The title characters are children in the exuberant and colorful Ekdahl household in a Swedish town early in the twentieth century. Their parents, Oscar and Emilie, are the director and the leading lady of the local theatre company. Oscar's mother and brother are its chief patrons. After Oscar's early death, his widow marries the bishop and moves with her children to his austere and forbidding chancery. The children are immediately miserable. The film dramatizes and resolves those conflicts. A sub-plot features Isak, a local Jewish merchant who is the grandmother's lover and whose odd household becomes the children's refuge.

---

Plot Keywords:

bishop | jewish | female nudity | puppet theater | family gathering | 

---

Taglines:

En film av Ingmar Bergman

---

Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Sweden France West Germany

Language:

Swedish German Yiddish English

Release Date:

17 December 1982 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Fanny and Alexander

Filming Locations:

Europa Studios, Bromma, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 21,041,492 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematograph AB, Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI), Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

188 min 312 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The part of Bishop Edvard Vergérus was written by Ingmar Bergman with Max von Sydow in mind. When the screenplay was completed, von Sydow was contacted about playing the role, which would have been his first in a Bergman film since The Touch. Von Sydow was willing and, in fact, very excited about playing the role. However, Bergman was not aware of this, since von Sydow was in Los Angeles at the time, and could only be reached through his agent who, acting in what he perceived as von Sydow's interest, told Bergman and his producers that von Sydow would only play the role if he could have a percentage of the film's profits, in addition to his salary. The producers, already stretched to their financial limits, of course balked, and told the agent that, sadly, there could be no such compromise, and began looking for other actors to play the pivotal part. By the time von Sydow had learned why his beloved role had been taken from him, Jan Malmsjö had already been cast as the Bishop, and von Sydow lost his chance to star in what would later be known to be Bergman's "last film" (although he would play key roles in The Best Intentions and Private Confessions, both written by Bergman). Von Sydow was furious about the incident, and, by certain accounts, still harbours a bitter grudge about it to this day.

---

Goofs

The movie is set around 1905, as can be seen from the "contract" that Gustav Adolf gave Maj early in the movie, but Edvard tells Emilie that he heard that the universe is expanding. Slipher discovered the red shifts in some nebulae/galaxies in 1912, an observation that suggests that these objects are moving away from us; Hubble's law of the expanding universe was published in 1929; and the big bang theory become popular in the 1950s.

---

Quotes

Ekdahlska huset - Gustav Adolf Ekdahl: Therefore let us be happy while we are happy. Let us be kind, generous, affectionate and good. It is necessary and not at all shameful to take pleasure in the little world.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The She-Creature (1997)

User Reviews

Probably Bergman's best

Although I have disliked Bergman's earlier films and thought they were by far too overrated, that did not apply to this film. I saw the director's-cut version, over five hours. A little long, yes, and there is not much music, but it's not slow, like Tarkovsky's films can be.

The opening is great, and the first act, the first one and a half hour, was the part I liked the very most. The realism is utter, so is the casting; the best acting I have seen in a Swedish film, it's amazing. I can't complain about any actor, they were all extremely good. So is the dialog. Alexander had a typical upper class look, so did his grandmother, who looked extremely fresh and healthy and beautiful, for her age. All together, the language and milieus are very credible. No over-colorful costumes and silly dialogs, that is such a frequent element nowadays in historical plays, especially from America.

Bergman succeeds to capture the customs and behavior that were used (and to some extent still is used) within the Swedish upper class, as well as general Swedish customs and behavior. I know this, because I am familiar with it and have partly experienced it myself. The result is sometimes amazing. Bergman succeeds to capture the atmosphere of the old times, through language and decoration. The photo is at time dazzling; some scenes are identical to 19th century Swedish painting, and I get the thought that Bergman turned to these in search for the right setting of the film.

Unlike early works by Bergman, which tend to be somewhat theatrical, the keyword here is realism, which I appreciate greatly. The actors manage, like I said, to speak and play in a way that I feel was customary at that period of time. It might be too much to claim this work to be a Swedish Tarkovsky film, but I sensed it had some philosophical material, and it is definitely thoughtful. Otherwise, I think it is worth watching for the acting and dialog alone.

One of the best Swedish films ever made, and Bergman's best, in my opinion. (9/10)