From the Life of the Marionettes (1980)

An account of the events before and after a murder committed by Peter Egermann, a disturbed businessman in a strained marriage, and what led Peter to perform such a shocking act.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Martin Benrath

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Robert Atzorn	...	Peter Egermann
Christine Buchegger	...	Katarina Egermann
Martin Benrath	...	Professor Mogens Jensen
Rita Russek	...	Katarina Krafft
Lola Müthel	...	Cordelia Egermann
Walter Schmidinger	...	Tim Mandelbaum
Heinz Bennent	...	Arthur Brenner
Ruth Olafs	...	Nurse
Karl-Heinz Pelser	...	The Interrogator
Gaby Dohm	...	Frau Anders - Secretary
Toni Berger	...	The Guard
Erwin Faber	...	The Servant
Heino Hallhuber	...	The Choreographer
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doris Jensen	...	The Assistant in the fashion show

Storyline

Made during Bergman's tax-related exile in Germany, the film continues the story of Katarina and Peter Egermann, the feuding, childless, professional couple who appear in one episode of "Scenes From A Marriage." After Peter perpetrates a horrendous crime in its first scene, the rest of the film consists of a non-linear examination of his motivations, incorporating a police psychological investigation, scenes from the Egermanns' married life, and dream sequences.

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Plot Keywords:

male frontal nudity | male nudity | dream | death | epilogue | 

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Taglines:

The Woman He's About to Touch is a Dream. The Murder He's About to Commit is Not.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany Sweden

Language:

German

Release Date:

30 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

From the Life of the Marionettes

Filming Locations:

Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Incorporated Television Company (ITC), Personafilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 90 min (theatrical)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"From the Life of the Marionette"s is Ingmar Bergman's only German film. "The Serpent's Egg" may at first glance appear equally German. But it was conceived in Sweden and written at about the same time as Bergman's was receiving the warning signs of his own personal catastrophe.

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Quotes

Tim Mandelbaum: Most gays like women - not because we're feminine ourselves. But, because we're more in touch with our feelings.

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Connections

Spun-off from Scenes from a Marriage (1973)

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Soundtracks

Touch Me, Take Me
Performed by Rita Wright

User Reviews

Really intriguing and undervalued

Perhaps I'm biased as I am a great admirer of Ingmar Bergman, but I found myself both fascinated and impressed by From the Life of the Marionettes. Excepting All These Women, the only film(of those I've seen, which is a little over two-thirds) that I didn't care for, Bergman's films have ranged to solid to outstanding. From the Life of the Marionettes is not one his very finest, but it is one of the films of his that is close to outstanding. Apart from the I agree underdeveloped homosexual subplot, there is very little of the film to criticise. The production values could be seen as stark, but still sublime and even haunting and shot beautifully. Bergman directs superbly with his usual control and discipline, while the speeches are thoughtful and the structure consisting of drama, documentary, character study, flashback and dream sequences is constantly attention-grabbing and I didn't find myself confused by it. The characters could be seen as cold, but purposefully and there is the trademark compelling realism of Bergman's films here. There aren't Sweden's finest ever actors on board, but the acting is still very good. All in all, very undervalued Bergman with lots of interest value. 9/10 Bethany Cox