Summer with Monika (1953)

A pair of teenagers meet one summer day, start a reckless affair and abandon their families to be with one another.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Per Anders Fogelström (screenplay)

Stars:

Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, Dagmar Ebbesen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harriet Andersson	...	Monika Eriksson
Lars Ekborg	...	Harry Lund
Dagmar Ebbesen	...	Fru Lindström, Harry's faster
Åke Fridell	...	Ludwig Eriksson, Monikas far
Naemi Briese	...	Monikas mor
Åke Grönberg	...	Verkmästaren, Harrys arbetskamrat
Sigge Fürst	...	Johan, lagerbasen på Forsbergs
John Harryson	...	Lelle, Harrys rival
Georg Skarstedt	...	Harrys far
Gösta Ericsson	...	Forsberg, direktör för glas
Gösta Gustafson	...	Forsbergs kamrer
Gösta Prüzelius	...	Försäljare hos Forsbergs
Göthe Grefbo	...	Lagerarbetare hos Fersbergs
Arthur Fischer	...	Chef för grönsakslagret
Torsten Lilliecrona	...	Chaufför på grönsakslagret

Storyline

Harry Lund is a nineteen-year-old man who meets Monika, a romantic, reckless and rebellious seventeen-year-old, and they fall in love. They leave their families and jobs in their small town, Harry gets his father's boat and they spend the summer together in an isolated island. Monika gets pregnant, and Harry decides to marry her. He grows up, gets a job and returns to his studies, trying to improve their lives and raise their daughter June, while Monika just wants to have fun.

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Plot Keywords:

summer | boy | island | 1950s | teenage boy | 

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Taglines:

A Picture for Wide Screens and Broad Minds

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

9 February 1953 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Monika

Filming Locations:

Ornö, Stockholms län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

SEK 484,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 62 min (re-edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (AGA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's then ground-breaking nudity led to its American distributor snapping up the film sight unseen and marketing it along the lines of a Russ Meyer picture. It remains the most widely seen Ingmar Bergman film in the US.

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Quotes

Monika's Boss: Nilsson!
Svensson: It's Svensson.
Monika's Boss: Same difference. I promised your boss a bottle on my ration card. He said you have money. Hurry up before they close!

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Alternate Versions

First US release, marketed for the drive in theater circuit, ran only 62 minutes, was dubbed, and featured a different score by jazz musician Les Baxter.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: European New Wave (2011)

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Soundtracks

IN MY DREAM GARDEN
Music by Gordon Rayner

User Reviews

A classic in a pristine new print from Janus

Ingmar Bergman's Monika (Summer with Monika) (1953) is the story of two Stockholm teenagers, stock boy Harry (Lars Ekborg) and voluptuous, impulsive Monika (Harriet Andersson), who meet and fall in love and run away for a summer on a motorboat on the Stockholm archipelago escaping from work and all responsibility. Monika becomes pregnant and they return to the city and marry – but things turn bad. This first powerful feature by the Swedish master is simple and sweet but nonetheless rich in emotional wrenching events. The film, which depicts teenage unwed sex, was shockingly sensual for its time. In 2006 the intensity of Harriet Andersson's uninhibited performance is still impressive and this story is just as heartbreaking as it was over half a century ago.

Presented as part of the Janus Films sidebar of the 2006 New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in another gorgeous pristine-looking new print with a rich black and white tonal range that may look better than the original did.