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:

maternity ward | baby | no music | stirrups | still birth | 

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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

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

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.

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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

Exceptional film from Bergman

Undervalued Bergman film whose themes are pregnancy and birth. I've never seen these subjects discussed in a film with such lucidity. Three women in various states of pregnancy are in a hospital room together. We are first introduced to Ingrid Thulin, who is only a few months pregnant. She has come to the hospital because she has had a hemorrhage. She loses the fetus, which gives her a new view on her relationship with her husband (Erland Josephson). One of her roommates, played by Eva Dahlbeck, is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She has a loving relationship with her husband, and they cannot wait to have their child. The third roommate is Bibi Andersson, a young, single woman who has had an abortion before. She doesn't want this baby, either, but neither does she want to have another abortion. Childbirth really is a frightening thing. Even if the woman has a man, she is alone within herself when the event happens. I think this may be one of Bergman's best films, although the poor quality of the video harmed its effect quite a bit. It had white subtitles, and, since the entire film takes place in a hospital, you could imagine that the white hospital gowns and sheets and such really block the subtitles a good amount of the time. There were certainly some major bits of dialogue that I had no chance of understanding. I eagerly await a proper DVD release, although I'm not going to hold my breath. The three actresses are absolutely brilliant, especially Bibi Andersson, who definitely gives one of her best performances.