The first Bergman film I've seen is the director's last: I was excited, his reputation puts him in the upper echelon of directors, as far as I'm concerned, and I thought I could stomach his 'more accessible' film easily- I've seen tougher. This is a review of the 188- minute version, and perhaps that influences some of my opinions.
Took in all kinds of things- why does the statue move? What does it say about Alexander? I tried to get a grasp on who's in the family: but then it all- falls- apart. Maybe I'm not yet ready for this type of film, but my god as an objective viewer I was sadly, sadly disappointed.
The exposition at the very long Swedish version of the Godfather's opening fails: which bearded man is which? Who is the old lady? Who the hell are Fanny and Alexander's parents? On that note, where's Fanny? The titular character doesn't appear for nearly an hour and never does more than stand around and sometimes stick up for her brother, but she has about as much emotion as Bella from Twilight- yes, that comparison just happened. I didn't know who the father was until he died (that's not a spoiler) and didn't connect with who the mother was until we see her grieving in admittedly an excellent scene, one of the best.
The kicker is that the family is interesting but it doesn't come to much. Helena, the grandmother, is a wonderfully warm presence and one of the film's great cheers. Gustav Adolf is very lively, but I am baffled that the whole family is OK with him having impregnated his mistress, one of Helena's housekeepers. His wife is OK with it! Everyone treats it like a normal thing! Carl and his wife are just miserable, but their plot goes nowhere, and finally Isak is cheery and likable. The film's greatest, saving strength is its acting: the performances are sublime, and the chemistry between actors is that of a tight- knit family. The tyrannical Edvard is not even that horrible of a person, only a stark contrast from Oscar, but his portrayal and the way the film plays out leads us to see him as a monster.
So after the ridiculously long party, and once Oscar dies, we see what the new home life will be like and then the intermission occurs. After that things change radically and things become surreal. It's captivating, especially with the minimalist piano (fantastic music throughout) but I was never sure where real life ended and fantasy began. In its context, talking to the dead makes sense: but miraculous mirages? That's the best answer even Bergman came up with, miracles. Telepathy? I couldn't buy it after seeing a family drama for 2 hours.
So the plot trips all over itself, made extra painful by the aforementioned acting and the exquisite script, with amazing dialogues that translate well to English. That essentially sums up the film: top- caliber everything except for a failure to build initial thoughts on characters, and having a terrible plot rife with holes. I'm reminded of a Shakespearean comedy: I think they get buy just by having his name attached. Midsummer's Night Dream is awful. This is not awful, but not nearly what I expected. This is now the definitive example as to why plot overrules everything. 7.0/10
Took in all kinds of things- why does the statue move? What does it say about Alexander? I tried to get a grasp on who's in the family: but then it all- falls- apart. Maybe I'm not yet ready for this type of film, but my god as an objective viewer I was sadly, sadly disappointed.
The exposition at the very long Swedish version of the Godfather's opening fails: which bearded man is which? Who is the old lady? Who the hell are Fanny and Alexander's parents? On that note, where's Fanny? The titular character doesn't appear for nearly an hour and never does more than stand around and sometimes stick up for her brother, but she has about as much emotion as Bella from Twilight- yes, that comparison just happened. I didn't know who the father was until he died (that's not a spoiler) and didn't connect with who the mother was until we see her grieving in admittedly an excellent scene, one of the best.
The kicker is that the family is interesting but it doesn't come to much. Helena, the grandmother, is a wonderfully warm presence and one of the film's great cheers. Gustav Adolf is very lively, but I am baffled that the whole family is OK with him having impregnated his mistress, one of Helena's housekeepers. His wife is OK with it! Everyone treats it like a normal thing! Carl and his wife are just miserable, but their plot goes nowhere, and finally Isak is cheery and likable. The film's greatest, saving strength is its acting: the performances are sublime, and the chemistry between actors is that of a tight- knit family. The tyrannical Edvard is not even that horrible of a person, only a stark contrast from Oscar, but his portrayal and the way the film plays out leads us to see him as a monster.
So after the ridiculously long party, and once Oscar dies, we see what the new home life will be like and then the intermission occurs. After that things change radically and things become surreal. It's captivating, especially with the minimalist piano (fantastic music throughout) but I was never sure where real life ended and fantasy began. In its context, talking to the dead makes sense: but miraculous mirages? That's the best answer even Bergman came up with, miracles. Telepathy? I couldn't buy it after seeing a family drama for 2 hours.
So the plot trips all over itself, made extra painful by the aforementioned acting and the exquisite script, with amazing dialogues that translate well to English. That essentially sums up the film: top- caliber everything except for a failure to build initial thoughts on characters, and having a terrible plot rife with holes. I'm reminded of a Shakespearean comedy: I think they get buy just by having his name attached. Midsummer's Night Dream is awful. This is not awful, but not nearly what I expected. This is now the definitive example as to why plot overrules everything. 7.0/10