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Brink of Life (1958)

Nära livet (original title)
Not Rated | | Drama | 31 March 1958 (Sweden)
Brink of Life Poster
Three women in a maternity ward reveal their lives and intimate thoughts to each other while in a maternity ward together, where they face the choice of keeping their babies or offering them for adoption.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ulla Isaksson (screenplay)

Stars:

Eva Dahlbeck, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson | See full cast & crew »
Reviews
3 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Photos

See all 25 photos »
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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eva Dahlbeck ... Stina Andersson
Ingrid Thulin ... Cecilia Ellius
Bibi Andersson ... Hjördis Petterson
Barbro Hiort af Ornäs ... Nurse Brita
Erland Josephson ... Anders Ellius
Max von Sydow ... Harry Andersson
Gunnar Sjöberg ... Dr. Nordlander
Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz ... Counsellor Gran
Inga Landgré ... Greta Ellius
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Three women in a maternity ward reveal their lives and intimate thoughts to each other while in a maternity ward together, where they face the choice of keeping their babies or offering them for adoption.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

maternity ward | baby | no music | stirrups | still birth | See All (25) »

Taglines:

INGMAR BERGMAN presents another startling and outstanding achievement in the film art...

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

31 March 1958 (Sweden) See more »

Also Known As:

Brink of Life See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Tonefilm, Inter-American Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

There is no musical score, just a few bars from a radio at 10.55 pm. The tune played is Sweden's national anthem indicating the end of the broadcast that day. See more »

Quotes

Cecilia Ellius: Mothers aren't always that way we think. They were young once, too, and can't have forgotten about it...
See more »

Connections

Featured in Minns Ni? (1993) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Standard early Bergman, in other words, very impressive
18 March 2014 | by whatalovelypark – See all my reviews

This movie is fairly straight forward, with women in various situations facing childbirth.

What transforms this movie is the astonishing performances that Bergman is able to obtain from the actors. It's something that is so frequent in the first half of his career. There's something vibrant and remarkable, that transcends plot. You can see why he became so famous. Very few directors seem to be able to obtain such spontaneous performances from their actors.

Like so many of his early films, there's not much here that you might not see in the theatre. Yet it has such remarkable life to it.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
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