In the Presence of a Clown (TV 1997)
"Larmar och gör sig till" (original title)

Inventor Carl Åkerblom is a rosy-cheeked 54 year-old admirer of Franz Schubert - and a patient in the psychiatric ward of Akademiska Hospital in Uppsala, after having attempted to beat to ... See full summary »

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Börje Ahlstedt, Marie Richardson, Erland Josephson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Uncle Carl Åkerblom
Marie Richardson	...	Pauline Thibualt
Erland Josephson	...	Osvald Vogler
Pernilla August	...	Karin Bergman
Anita Björk	...	Anna Åkerblom
Agneta Ekmanner	...	Klovnen Rigmor
Lena Endre	...	Märta Lundberg
Gunnel Fred	...	Emma Vogler
Gerthi Kulle	...	Sister Stella
Johan Lindell	...	Johan Egerman
Peter Stormare	...	Petrus Landahl
Folke Asplund	...	Fredrik Blom
Anna Björk	...	Mia Falk
Inga Landgré	...	Alma Berglund
Alf Nilsson	...	Stefan Larsson

Storyline

Inventor Carl Åkerblom is a rosy-cheeked 54 year-old admirer of Franz Schubert - and a patient in the psychiatric ward of Akademiska Hospital in Uppsala, after having attempted to beat to death his fiancée, Pauline Thibault. Together with another patient, Professor Osvald Vogler, they set up a film project: the living talkie. Before long, they set off on a frantic tour with their film, "The Joy of the Joyous Girl"...

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Plot Keywords:

schubert | death | mental patient | marriage | clown | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Sweden Italy Norway Germany Denmark

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

1 November 1997 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

In the Presence of a Clown

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danmarks Radio (DR), Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond, Nordiska TV-Samarbetsfonden

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ingmar Bergman:  one of the inmates at the mental asylum (tall and lanky man with shaved head, standing against the wall outside uncle Carl's room).

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Connections

Featured in I sällskap med en clown (1997)

User Reviews

The man who loved cinema the most

After his brilliant portrayal of the black sheep Ekhdal in Fanny and Alexander I expected something else from Börje Ahlstedt but didn't know where to find him. I stumbled accidentally on this film that I didn't even know was a Bergman at first. I was completely surprised not only in the acting of not only Ahlstedt but Erland Josephson and Marie Richardson as well, but by Bergman's capacity to come up with so many ideas in a moment in his career when other brilliant directors are long forgotten. Bergman's freshness after fifty years of cinema making is unbelievable. This movie tackles one of the richest ideas available, the relation between life and art, cinema and theater. Using a plot revolving around an inventor in the early cinema that fantasizes about making cinema parlante, a new thing at that time, Bergman addresses a fundamental problem: what is the purpose of art? Is it mere entertainment or does it convey a deeper meaning? The central moment in the film is the presentation to a small and friendly audience comprising mainly friends of the artists of a movie. The representation is interrupted by a fire but the actors go on with the same play on an improvised stage. But the play starts to acquire new meaning when the actors begin improvising about their own problems in life and the audience is also caught in the act. Not to mention that the original play was some nonsense (intended) about a love affair involving Schubert and a virgin prostitute that lived some eighty years after his death. This may seem confusing, but Bergman has his reasons. The title refers to some vision of death that takes the shape of a clown and persecutes the main character who will eventually commit suicide at the end. Depressing, quite cruel, but Bergman masterfully takes the viewer through a large range of emotions. As in Fanny and Alexabnder there are sufficient moments of laughter and/or good disposition throughout. Bergman fans will find a lot of his usual issues, the movie reminded me of Persona to a large extent (the problem of the artificial nature of art, theater and/or cinema)but there are enough original ideas, surprisingly many, to make it interesting in itself and not only because it's a Begrman!