Kvinnors väntan (1952)

The four wives of four brothers share stories of their marriages as they each wait for their husbands in a small, secluded cottage.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writers:

Ingmar Bergman, Gun Grut (story)

Stars:

Anita Björk, Eva Dahlbeck, Maj-Britt Nilsson

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anita Björk	...	Rakel
Eva Dahlbeck	...	Karin
Maj-Britt Nilsson	...	Marta
Birger Malmsten	...	Martin Lobelius
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Fredrik Lobelius
Karl-Arne Holmsten	...	Eugen Lobelius
Jarl Kulle	...	Kaj
Aino Taube	...	Annette (as Aino Taube-Henrikson)
Håkan Westergren	...	Paul Lobelius
Gerd Andersson	...	Maj
Björn Bjelfvenstam	...	Henrik Lobelius (as Björn Bjelvenstam)

Storyline

Rakel, Marta, Karin and Annette are married to four brothers. While waiting in a summer cottage for their husbands to come home, they tell each other stories about their marriages. Rakel tells about the time she had an affair and confronted her husband with it. Marta's story is about how she at first refused to marry and had her child by herself. Karin tells about what happened when one time she and her husband got stuck in an elevator together. While the women tell their stories, Marta's younger sister Maj is planning to elope.

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Plot Keywords:

unfaithfulness | flashback | episodic structure | unhappiness | sister in law | 

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Taglines:

The love affairs of three women - marital...premarital...and one marvelous surprise!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish French

Release Date:

11 July 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Waiting Women

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cameo. In Paris. When Marta is about to leave the building where she has seen the gynecologist a tall lean man in a beret enters through the front door, dimly visible only in a mirror. This is man is no one less than Bergman himself.

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Connections

Featured in Stjärnbilder (1995)

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Soundtracks

Dans i de saligas ängder
[from the opera "Orfeo ed Euridice"]
Composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1762)
Lyrics written by Raniero de Calzabigi ( 1762)
Swedish lyrics by Göran Rothman (from Italian text,1773)

User Reviews

One of Bergman's most underrated

I am a great admirer of Ingmar Bergman, Sweden's greatest director, and his films. Waiting Women(or Secrets of Women) is not one of his very finest, but it is one of his most underrated. Perhaps it is a touch overlong and episodic, but compared to everything else on display they are entirely forgivable. Bergman's direction is polished and never detached, while the film looks beautiful and is photographed every bit as strikingly. The music is hauntingly understated, the right approach for the story Waiting Women is conveying, while the writing is splendid(as is the comic finale) especially in the elevator sequence. The three stories that form the film are done in a heart-warming yet sincere way, the first is a tad clichéd and probably the weakest of the three but still does its job well, while the second story was the one with the most heart and the third was the one with the most pleasantly funny moments. What really matters is that all three had subjects that anybody can identify with and dealt with them realistically. The characters weren't the most likable on the planet, nor were they intended to be. That said, I wasn't annoyed or frustrated by them. All six leads give deeply felt and believable performances, Eva Dahlbeck and Gunner Bjornstrand are particularly note-worthy. Overall, while not one of Bergman's best it is one of his more underrated films and is very well done. 9/10 Bethany Cox