Ingmar Bergman directs Pernilla Allwin, Kristina Adolphson and Börje Ahlstedt in this period drama where two children experience the ups and downs of their extended family in well-to-do Uppsala.

We watched the five hour mini series edit over a long weekend. I’m not going to say this finally unlocked Bergman for me. My resistance to his pretensions and obtuseness are still there. Yet at a more leisurely pace and with a more joyous ensemble coddling the misery there were few scenes I didn’t enjoy. There’s a lot of oppression, mythology and meta going on here. But you can approach it as a big Christmas movie that doesn’t know when to quit. I was never lost by Bergman’s intentions. There were three or four characters I genuinely cared about. The lurches into horror and broad comedy were effective. The ultimate point that the connection people make with us shapes us long after their deaths was felt. Perspective is very important. Beautiful compositions, overpopulated and sparse. Every type of Swedish honey too.

8

Perfect Double Bill: … Plenty!

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