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 Forsbergs
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 | island | 1950s | teenage boy | teenage girl | 

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Taglines:

En film om unga känslor. Djärv! Frispråkig! Chockerande!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Exterior scenes in the archipelago was recorded without sound of a small working crew accommodated at the parish clerk, teacher and musician Philip Olsson (1904-1977) at Ornö.

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Quotes

Monika Eriksson: Oh dear, I've grown tubby.

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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

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une vague nouvelle (1999)

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Soundtracks

RAGTIME
Music by Reinhold Svensson

User Reviews

A film that delights and horrifies

Sommaren med Monika, often translated as Monika, the Story of a Bad Girl, but directly it is Summer with Monika, I prefer the latter. Summer with Monika is Ingmar Bergman's early masterful classic. It's European modernism and as many of Bergman's films of that era, this film too dealt with social issues. Even that Ingmar Bergman himself was from a bourgeois family, Summer with Monika builds around the working class. It's a story about two youngsters who fall in love and start living a life of their own.

Monika is a minor girl who doesn't get along with her parents. Her only escape from the harsh family life is romantic cinema and her boyfriend, Harry. In result of the distressing life Monika and Harry escape the city to archipelago for the summer. When the summer's over and they come back, the love between them starts to fade.

I have yet not seen as strong film about young parenthood as this. It shows the truth in a very realistic light, Bergman doesn't add any glamor to its characters' lives, which he never does. This is the social theme of Summer with Monika, young parenthood and the subject is still very current, which makes the film timeless. No director of today has succeed in making as good description of the life like that.

Summer with Monika is so beautifully made that it delights you. The plot also has some points that delight the audience, but I was mostly touched by the beauty of the narrative and cinematography. Both of these are clearly European modernism in Summer with Monika. The camera goes behind the reality, it shows the true emotions of the characters. A very impressive scene of the film is when Monika watches directly to the camera. This shocking destruction of the fourth wall and the illusion of cinema, was probably the first one ever made. My information of this is not accurate or reliable, but at least Summer with Monika was one of the first ones, that did this.

A very powerful film of love, youth, parenthood, frustration and life.

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

9 February 1953 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Monika

Filming Locations:

Ornö, Stockholms län, Sweden

Box Office

Budget:

SEK484,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,316

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