Brink of Life (1958)

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

3 wins & 1 nomination.

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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

eastern europe | maternity ward | baby | no music | stirrups | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kristina Cecilia Lindgren Ellius was born on March 20, 1930.

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Quotes

Hjördis Petterson: They think I'm horrible. I think so too. I think I'm horrible. I don't want to answer like I do, but the words just fall from my lips. I bite their heads off although I don't mean it. Then at night when I can't sleep I get so angry with myself. Everything just keeps growing and growing. And I always end up at the very bottom. Whatever I do, things just go wrong. I don't know what to do.

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Connections

Featured in Minns Ni? (1993)

User Reviews

a turning point in my film going life

This film is one of the most important of all those that I have seen in my movie going, spanning fifty years, for it was the first Bergman film I saw in the early sixties at Auckland's only cinema for foreign films. I was struck by its humanity, by its clear eyed view of what it is to be human. Not only did it open up the whole body of Bergman's subsequent work, but I saw the themes first explored in this film deepened and enriched (with a few disappointments to be sure) throughout his career. I first learned here that more difficult and challenging films keep giving long after they have been first seen. Those who say Bergman is gloomy and depressing, all I can say is that the MOST depressing experience in the cinema EVER for me, was being persuaded to join a group of people "just for a laugh" to see the truly execrable "Sex and the City 2" Compare the insulting view of women in that piece of rubbish with this gem.

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

31 March 1958 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Brink of Life

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nordisk Tonefilm, Inter-American Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1