Ingeborg Holm

I dont know if netflix got involved before or after the restoration .but this a great achievement for1913 may be I'm a wimp but the end made me cry. More like this netflix please

The classic narrative films so familiar in "The Golden Age of Hollywood" movies had its beginning in October 1913 with Sweden's "Ingeborg Holm." Writer/director Victor Sjostrom adapted the Nils Krok 1906 play about a family who sinks to the depths of poverty after the father dies just as he assumes ownership of a store.

What sets "Ingeborg Holm" apart from the movies produced previously to the autumn of 1913 was the breath of its plot. Instead of taking a slice of a full-scale biography of the characters and producing a film on one particular stand alone event, here Sjostrom portrays an entire family's history, beginning when the head of the household receives bank funding to begin his enterprise. He continues the plot until years later, concluding in an emotional reunion with the mother and her long-absent son.

"Ingeborg Holm" fits all the criteria in cinema's full narrative definitions. A classic narrative begins by introducing all the characters who will propel the plot forward, just as Sjostrom illustrated with the comfortable middle-class family embarking on its new enterprise. Narratives contain a triggering event which shakes things up. Here, the father dies and his assistant at the store rips off the family's profits. Sjostrom continues the narrative plot by showing the mother-led family sinking into poverty, with the kids shunt off to the poor house. Events lead up to the conclusion, where the director visually reveals Sweden's lack of a safety net for the country's poor caused by, through no fault of themselves, their hardships.

Hollywood would follow Sjostrom's pattern of full narrative movies, especially during its classic 1930's--1950's golden age. There are variations of the narrative pattern in movies today, but the Swedes were the first to put into practice on film what literature and drama had been delivering for centuries.

Today's movie viewers may be familiar with Sjostrom by his last appearance on the screen in Ingmar Bergman's 1957's "Wild Strawberries," where he had the leading role of an aging professor who rediscovers his past through a journey to receive a honorarium.

Beautiful background music added to this Swedish silent film from 1913. This is first silent film I've seen and I didn't know what to expect. To my surprise, I was able to stay engaged for the full 73 mins and ended up enjoying the style in which the film is presented. The story of a widowed mother tugs at your heartstrings and is a bold commentary on the treatment of lower-class individuals (particularly women) at the time. Would recommend this film to anyone interested in deepening their understanding of European film from the early 20th century. I would not recommend this film to anyone looking to tune out to a relaxing (somewhat short) film.

The Holms are a happy Swedish family who live an easy bourgeoisie life. In order to further improve their living, Herr Sven Holm requests a line of credit in the amount of 10.000 kronor in order to open a grocery shop.

Unfortunately things will change drastically for the Holms when Herr Sven falls ill with tuberculosis and dies. The grocery store, in the meanwhile, was left improperly unattended by an employee. Frau Ingeborg Holm is left bankrupt and alone with her three small children. This forces her to ask for help in a poorhouse.

Sweden has contributed to mankind some debatable inventions. For example, there's the safe but unstylish tank automobiles made in that Northern country ( nothing in common with elegant "Hispano-Suiza" cars )... or.. that modernen and consequently, ugly furniture manufactured in pieces that the buyer must to try to assemble ( ah, the "Rococo" overloaded style! ) ...or ...with not a trace of a four string quartets, the Swedish instead tormented aristocracy with bands of four longhaired youngsters singing tunes that even today are popular among commoners… But certainly the most important Swedish contribution to the whole world was Social Security for their population via a program that provides protection to their commoners with unemployment insurance, poverty protection and pensions, among others. It's a public welfare state that other countries will model years later.

But unfortunately things weren't always that way as Herr Victor Sjöström depicted in his early silent film "Ingeborg Holm", directed by the Swedish director in the silent year of 1913.

The film was based on a play by Herr Nils Krok, who can be seen posing as the film starts in an elegant old photograph ( nothing in common with the coloured ones that the youngsters put in their modernen profiles ). The picture version tells the human tragedy of Frau Ingeborg Holm, who due to circumstances and the blows of fate, will face destitution. Her personal drama is worsened by the unsympathetic and strict poorhouse rules that during the last centuries were applied by Swedish officialdom.

Herr Sjöström admirably depicts the process of loss that affects Frau Holm's life and her desperation, abandonment, helplessness and finally insanity. It's a terrible sad odyssey that Frau Holm will suffer and includes making heartbreaking decisions such as when she is forced to put her children in an orphanage.

Certainly "Ingeborg Holm" is not an easy film. It is an uncomfortable drama in which Herr Sjöström denounces in a realistic and harsh way the injustice caused by strict central government laws that have no concern for their subjects.

Such bitterer sensations continue during the whole film climaxing at the end of the picture when Frau Holm, after 15 years, reunites again with one of her sons. This is a wonderful scene full of infinite sadness and very moving ( at this point it must be said that the original music score composed and performed by Herr David Drazin for the longhaired "Kino" modernen disc edition, is absolutely touching and elegant ).

But this is not a happy ending because there is no comfort in this reunion; there is not a chance in recovering the happy old days when times were better for Frau Holm and her three children. Instead Frau Holm has lived a miserable life in where everything she had and loved was destroyed. Herr Sjöström depicts a desperate, hard and moving portrait of a ruined life.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must pay a visit to his aristocratic fostered parents.

A woman loses her husband and children in quick succession as the hand of fate lands her a tragic blow. Good direction, cinematography and acting for the time make this one of the essential silents and a standout in Scandinavian and world cinema. A must for fans of film history and movies in general.