the funny Bergman
The death of Ingmar Bergman has caused a bunch of comments, as it should, and though it doesn't surprise me to see people on LJ describe him as a bore, a sadsack, or a miser, it riles me a bit, because it's not true.
Yes. Okay. We've all seen the chess-playing scene from The Seventh Seal or some parody thereof. There are scenes in Bergman's movies that are tragic, angsty, full to the brim of the fear of death. Brilliant scenes, for the most part, so they're not as depressing as they might seem for an outsider, but I've certainly been both chilled and crying while watching Bergman.
But there are also scenes that are warm, funny, and life-affirming. So I browsed YouTube in order to bring a couple of those scenes to you.
This scene from Smiles of a Summer Night is one of my absolute favourites from that film. Naima Wifstrand as the mother is simply brilliant, and Eva Dahlbeck as Desirée is fabulous too. They're cheeky, manipulative, and absolutely loving it. :-) This scene is translated, so there's no excuse not to watch it.
Papageno's entrance from The Magic Flute is another fabulous scene. Of course the music plays a big part here, but I just love the scenic solution - and of course it helps that Håkan Hagegård charms the audience's socks off. No translation, I'm afraid, but if you feel the scene isn't self-explanatory, there's a libretto with translation on this site. Search for Papageno and your first find is the right scene.
I've come to wonder if perhaps one of the problems with Ingmar Bergman's image is that nuance doesn't come through very well in translation. A lot of the time (quite often in The Seventh Seal, for example), the scenes are played with a sort of black humour - fear of death, sure, but also poking fun at that fear. (Like when Death comes for a man who asks, "Are there no special rules for actors?")
Because of this (and because Håkan Hagegård charms my socks off), I've also decided to include another Magic Flute scene: Papageno's attempted suicide and reunion with Papagena. The comedy is physical enough that I think it will come through even for those of you who don't speak Swedish, and you'll see what I mean - death, and humour about death. (You can also search the libretto for "weibchen, täubchen" to see what on earth he's on about.)
Yes. Okay. We've all seen the chess-playing scene from The Seventh Seal or some parody thereof. There are scenes in Bergman's movies that are tragic, angsty, full to the brim of the fear of death. Brilliant scenes, for the most part, so they're not as depressing as they might seem for an outsider, but I've certainly been both chilled and crying while watching Bergman.
But there are also scenes that are warm, funny, and life-affirming. So I browsed YouTube in order to bring a couple of those scenes to you.
This scene from Smiles of a Summer Night is one of my absolute favourites from that film. Naima Wifstrand as the mother is simply brilliant, and Eva Dahlbeck as Desirée is fabulous too. They're cheeky, manipulative, and absolutely loving it. :-) This scene is translated, so there's no excuse not to watch it.
Papageno's entrance from The Magic Flute is another fabulous scene. Of course the music plays a big part here, but I just love the scenic solution - and of course it helps that Håkan Hagegård charms the audience's socks off. No translation, I'm afraid, but if you feel the scene isn't self-explanatory, there's a libretto with translation on this site. Search for Papageno and your first find is the right scene.
I've come to wonder if perhaps one of the problems with Ingmar Bergman's image is that nuance doesn't come through very well in translation. A lot of the time (quite often in The Seventh Seal, for example), the scenes are played with a sort of black humour - fear of death, sure, but also poking fun at that fear. (Like when Death comes for a man who asks, "Are there no special rules for actors?")
Because of this (and because Håkan Hagegård charms my socks off), I've also decided to include another Magic Flute scene: Papageno's attempted suicide and reunion with Papagena. The comedy is physical enough that I think it will come through even for those of you who don't speak Swedish, and you'll see what I mean - death, and humour about death. (You can also search the libretto for "weibchen, täubchen" to see what on earth he's on about.)