Jan-Erik Widgren, near graduation at a Swedish secondary school, is at particular odds with his sadistic Latin teacher whom the students have nickname "Caligula" (in honor of the reputedly cruel and sexually perverse Roman emperor). Maybe not everyone has had a teacher who is as strict a disciplinarian as Caligula, but most likely they have had a teacher provoke an emotional reaction similar to Jan-Erik's. If the classroom scenes don't make you break out in a cold sweat, they are likely to give you nightmares. At fist I thought the classroom scenes were too long, but they are essential in establishing Caligula's personality and the relationship between him and Jan-Erik. The dark shadow that Caligula casts over the proceedings is tempered somewhat by the rather benevolent personality of the older Headmaster; one of the best scenes in the movie has the Headmaster giving Caligula a crushingly frank personality appraisal.
Jan-Erik has more of the temperament of an artist than that of a Latin scholar and he has his hands full in trying to deal with Caligula, but he also gets involved with a woman of questionable moral character who complicates his life. Additionally he is in conflict with his upper-class parents who have expectations of him that he does not satisfy. He is a tormented man.
But, as you would expect from a Bergman screenplay, serious emotional complexities ensue as the plot develops. You come to understand that everyone in the film is living with their own personal torment-- Jan-Erik, his parents, his woman friend, and the school's headmaster. In a final ironic touch we see that it is Caligula who is the most tormented of all, he understands that he is an ass but he cannot help himself.
While Bergman did not direct this it would surprise no one if he had. The seeds of his future growth are clearly evident, not just in his screenplay, but in the filming. The high-contrast black-and-white is striking and the unusual camera angles add to the effect. Director Sjöberg has taken a page out of Fritz Lang's book.
The music I found to be intrusive and overly manipulative in the style of many Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s.
Jan-Erik has more of the temperament of an artist than that of a Latin scholar and he has his hands full in trying to deal with Caligula, but he also gets involved with a woman of questionable moral character who complicates his life. Additionally he is in conflict with his upper-class parents who have expectations of him that he does not satisfy. He is a tormented man.
But, as you would expect from a Bergman screenplay, serious emotional complexities ensue as the plot develops. You come to understand that everyone in the film is living with their own personal torment-- Jan-Erik, his parents, his woman friend, and the school's headmaster. In a final ironic touch we see that it is Caligula who is the most tormented of all, he understands that he is an ass but he cannot help himself.
While Bergman did not direct this it would surprise no one if he had. The seeds of his future growth are clearly evident, not just in his screenplay, but in the filming. The high-contrast black-and-white is striking and the unusual camera angles add to the effect. Director Sjöberg has taken a page out of Fritz Lang's book.
The music I found to be intrusive and overly manipulative in the style of many Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s.