romdal

The movie was written by Ingmar Bergman, but directed by Alf Kjellin. From 1961, it falls between Glass Darkly and Winter Lights, so one can imagine how Bergman would have had great fun writing this, while not intending to direct it in that period. It is a fresh, satirical comedy about petty bourgeois covert romance and social barriers. The direction is quirky, fun, but uneven, with several dead or awkward passages. Altogether very pleasant though. The story entails the secret year-long romance between a small town teacher and a waitress, taking place at a time when the waitress already has a 20-year old daughter which no one knows who has fathered. Bergman fans are into a real treat with Bergman superstars Gunnar Björnstrand and Bibi Andersson, and also minor Bergmanians Stig Järrel and Kristina Adolphsson. Björnstrand is the teacher, sporting an improbable moustache (did he have moustache in any Bergman movies?). And male Bergmaniacs better braise themselves for the sight of Bibi Andersson as the daughter, at the age of 26, in COLOUR! Not wanting to venture into borderline sexism, let me only say that just her hair color is an incredible golden/pearl white that cannot really compared with anything else in the world, but goes extremely well with her immensely blue eyes and... well 'nuff said, you should be ready to sell a family member to see this movie just once.

Early Bergman, and from the onset it is clear an artist is at work. The first conversation piece, with all 5 waiting women in the same room, is a long shot approaching 4 minutes, with various of the women talking. There are also already some typical Bergman postures, with one woman talking intensely and the one next to her staring vapidly past her downwards, seemingly lost in her own inner world. All that in well and good, but as soon as I heard the first monotonous monologue from the mother, her eyes turning to heaven, speaking of how she can not reach out to her husband", not even to scratch his eyes out, my Bergman-radar immediately hit the red zone. And surely enough, we are in for group therapy all the way, as each woman tells of one significant episode from their lives with their husbands. But it is a very elegant movie, and along the way you become quite sympathetic, even though all the stories describe infidelity and frigid bourgeous lives. My eye was caught by Eva Dahlbeck, who I also recently saw in Sommarnöje sökes. Here, at 32, she is sizzlingly hot. Overall it is a movie not to be missed by Bergman lovers, if mainly for historical reasons. His next movie was Monika, so this one can be said to commence his golden period. For the trivia-consumers: IMDb informs that Eva Dahlbeck has recently filed for divorce, after, ahem, 67 years of marriage. You go, girl!