The Best Intentions (1992)
"Den goda viljan" (original title)

The story of Ingmar Bergman's parents. In 1909, poor theology student Henrik Bergman falls in love with Anna Åkerbloom, the daughter of a rich family in Uppsala. After their wedding Henrik ... See full summary »

Director:

Bille August

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Samuel Fröler, Pernilla August, Max von Sydow

6 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samuel Fröler	...	Henrik Bergman
Pernilla August	...	Anna Bergman
Max von Sydow	...	Johan Åkerblom
Ghita Nørby	...	Karin Åkerblom
Lennart Hjulström	...	Disponent Nordenson
Mona Malm	...	Alma Bergman
Lena Endre	...	Frida Strandberg
Keve Hjelm	...	Fredrik Bergman
Björn Kjellman	...	Ernst Åkerblom
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Carl Åkerblom
Hans Alfredson	...	Kyrkoherde Gransjö
Lena T. Hansson	...	Magda Säll
Anita Björk	...	Drottning Victoria
Elias Ringquist	...	Petrus Farg
Ernst Günther	...	Freddy Paulin

Storyline

The story of Ingmar Bergman's parents. In 1909, poor theology student Henrik Bergman falls in love with Anna Åkerbloom, the daughter of a rich family in Uppsala. After their wedding Henrik becomes a priest in the north of Sweden. After a few years Anna can't stand living in the rural county with the uncouth people. She returns to Uppsala, Henrik stays in the north.

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Plot Keywords:

theology | forbidden love | edited from tv series

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Taglines:

Ett filmepos av Bille August efter Ingmar Bergmans egna ord

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Sweden Denmark Finland France Germany UK Italy Norway Iceland

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

10 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Best Intentions

Filming Locations:

Dillnäs, Södermanlands län, Sweden

Box Office

Gross:

$1,300,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SVT Drama, Danmarks Radio (DR), Yleisradio (YLE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

182 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first time a husband and wife both won awards at the Cannes Film Festival in separate categories for the same film, Bille August winning the Palme d'Or for Best Film and his wife Pernilla winning for Best Actress.

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Connections

Edited from The Best Intentions (1991)

User Reviews

Bergman

A couple. A far village. And lands of ice. Tale about Ingmar Bergman parents in Bergman style. Shadows of his filmography. And a story at century beginning. Body of marriage. And bones of common tensions. A key but, in same measure, a huge window. Each scene is only picture of same album. Love as lead river, pain, sin, cruelty, world like strange game, people as punctuation of tangled sentence, testimonies and harsh crumbs of hope, cruelty, demons and God as paper sun. Desert of ice and snow, ash and solitude, words as stones and each character like pray. A beautiful sad movie if ignore Bergman. A kind of sequel if Bergman is present for viewer. A meeting with Nax von Sydow for everyone. And Pernilla August in one of her interesting role.