The Touch (1971)

A seemingly happy Swedish housewife and mother begins an adulterous affair with a foreign archaeologist who is working near her home. But he is an emotionally scarred man, a Jewish survivor... See full summary »

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Elliott Gould, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elliott Gould	...	David Kovac
Bibi Andersson	...	Karin Vergerus
Max von Sydow	...	Andreas Vergerus
Sheila Reid	...	Sara Kovac

Storyline

A seemingly happy Swedish housewife and mother begins an adulterous affair with a foreign archaeologist who is working near her home. But he is an emotionally scarred man, a Jewish survivor from a concentration camp who found refuge in the U.S.,and, consequently, their relationship will be painfully difficult.

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Plot Keywords:

affair | one word title | female nudity | infidelity | nudity | 

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Taglines:

Ingmar Bergman's first English language motion picture starring Elliott Gould, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Sweden

Language:

English Swedish French

Release Date:

14 July 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Touch

Filming Locations:

Ekholmsnäs gård, Lidingö, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

ABC Pictures, Cinematograph AB

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last collaboration between Ingmar Bergman and Max von Sydow

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Connections

Featured in Citizen Schein (2017)

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Soundtracks

Sax Kitten
Written by Carlos Diernhammer

User Reviews

The Two Lives of a Married Woman

In a small town in Sweden, Karin Vergerus (Bibi Andersson) is a middle-class housewife, married with Dr. Andreas Vergerus (Max von Sydow) and having a son and a daughter. She meets the disturbed German-American Jewish architect David Kovac (Elliott Gould), who is restoring a church in her town, and has recently become friend of her husband. David has drinking and smoking problems and after a dinner party at the Vergerus's home, he confesses his infatuation for Karin to her. This declaration revives her sensuality and femininity, which were forgotten after fifteen years of stable and loyal marriage. Karin has an affair with David, tearing apart her world: in one side, she has the stability and safety of her boring marriage and bourgeois life, and in the other side, she has the freedom of the relationship with her lover. She has lots of difficulties to decide the course of her life. This magnificent open end film is another wonderful work of Ingmar Bergman, his first English spoken movie. Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow and Elliott Gould have again outstanding performances in a touching story about a thirty-four years woman divided in two possible lives and without knowing how to decide the way to be followed. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): `A Hora do Amor' (`The Hour of the Love')