Lektion in Liebe

A trifling and predictable story, but cleverly presented in non-linear fashion (the gradual revelation of the identity of the female train passenger is ingenious), and further elevated by Bergman's silky direction and the dazzling, lively Eva Dahlbeck (her face is perfection). *** out of 4.

Ingmar Bergman has many several superb movies. A Lesson In Love is not one of his best, or one of my favourites shall I say, but I found it to be a fine and very overlooked film in many ways. It looks wonderful, the cinematography is especially good in the picnic scene and the scenery and images are all stunning to watch. The script is cynical, charming and funny at the same time, while the story is lighter in tone than most Bergman but is well balanced also with intelligently explored issues within the family especially the tension between David and Nix. The flashbacks are very carefully calculated, and there are some standout scenes, like at the picnic, on the train and with the granddad. Bergman as ever directs superbly. It is the performances that make A Lesson in Love the charmer it is, aside from the writing that is. The ever elegant Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand give superb performances that gives A Lesson in Love that extra sparkle. Fellow Bergman regular Harriet Anderssen is also impressive, though went onto even better things. Overall, a charming and funny film, definitely recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

See the lighter side of Bergman in this movie. Marital difficulties and challenges are explored. Even though there's some food for thought, the movie stays on the surface and doesn't go into lenghty analysis. Reminded me about some of Eric Rohmer's films, but without the fine details. Not to worry though, Bergman's lesson in love is still worth watching. It's charming, but mostly funny. It makes for an enjoyable 90 minutes. Great job by the lead actors Gunnar Björnstrand, Eva Dahlbeck and the beautiful Yvonne Lombard. But I would agree with others that the last 30 seconds of the film are questionable.

Seen at home, in Toronto, on January 7th, 2006.

82/100 (***)

Bergman is a sublime comedy director and writer. This fact becomes apparent in "En lektion I kärlek", where the comic elements range from pure slapstick to deep, yet very emotional scenes. This movie is paves the way for Bergman's later comedies "Sommarnattens leende" and "Kvinnodröm", all of them starring Gunnar Björnstrand as well as Eva Dahlbeck. This is an excellent movie with which to start your Bergman experience, acutely portraying emotional troubles of the young as well as the old. The cinematography by Martin Bodin is astounding, for instance in the picnic scene. In short, the movie is a perfect example of a successful comedy, with a clarity of depth even surpassing some of Bergman's own comedies.

The theme of "A lesson in love" is more or less the same as the theme of the "Pina Colada" song of Rupert Holmes (1979). A man and a woman have written off their marriage after 15 years and are both hunting for a new partner. During the hunt they rediscover each other.

As the theme already indicates the film has two types of scenes.

Scenes with respect to the worn out marriage (tragedy).

Scenes with both spouses (but primarily the man) on partner hunt (comedy).

As Bergman says at the beginning of the film: "This is a comedy that could have been a tragedy".

To be honest, the comedy element of this film is rather bad. It is old fashioned, over the top and maybe both. Only a year later Bergman would prove that he knows how to handle a comedy with "Smiles of a summernight" (1955).

With respect to the theme of the film the low quality if the comic scenes proves to be a blessing in disguise. Despite all the fights the family scenes are more sincere and even more hopeful than the flirtation scenes. After all to argue with someone means that you care for someone.

By the way, the real lesson in love is given by the grandparents. They show how to live with the imperfections of your partner without hurting his / her feelings or self esteem. They do so already 50 years.