BB
(out of 5)
Dull version of August Strindberg’s famous, tragic play. Anita Björk is excellent as the self-destructive heiress who has broken off her engagement to a man she doesn’t love and finds romance with one of her servants. She would like to escape with him to another country where their upstairs-downstairs affair could be free of social constraints, but her constant sorrow and paranoia seem an imminent prevention to this solution. A movie of this sort, particularly from a Strindberg play, couldn’t possibly expect to be much fun, but the turgid drama is flat and doesn’t offer the kind of tragedy that Ingmar Bergman movies usually feature (after all, didn’t Bergman make staying up all night and rehashing life’s miseries into a sort of party game?) Features a supporting performance by Swedish superstar Max von Sydow and an early appearance by Bibi Andersson.
Directed by Alf Sjoberg
Screenplay by Alf Sjoberg, based on the play by August Strindberg
Cinematography by Goran Strindberg
Produced by Rune Waldekranz
Music by Dag Wiren
Production Design by Bibi Lindstrom
Film Editing by Lennart Wallen
Film Festivals: Cannes 1951
