Cries and Whispers

Along with 'Faces', I saw this at a special screening in London (which I'm not sure I was allowed at). I'm glad I did see it on the big screen-it's a great film and it deserves a wider viewing.

The basic story is that of three Swedish sisters living in their deceased parents grand house. It is a period piece set around the turn of the century. The story revolves around Agnes, terminally ill and bed ridden, and the two sisters, Karina and Maria, who along with a devoted maid are left to care for her. At the beginning of the film it is established that Agnes is mere days of dying. The trauma of family tragedy brings sibling tensions to the fore, and each sister is evoked in a flashback to an important point in their life.

For Agnes, it is her mothers mental fragility and coldness towards her. Karina is damaged by failed adulteries with the family doctor, while Maria looks back to her oppressive relationship. The illness acts as a trigger for harrowing and damaging past events to rear their ugly heads. The flashbacks correlate with the present day; we see how past trauma has informed their current state and behaviour. The sisters are resentful and cold toward each other. It is an uncomfortable, claustrophobic household.

Bergman's film is vivid and and haunting in its evocation of mood and tension of the household. The mise en scene works brilliantly to imitate the characters mental states and the raw emotion running through the building. The women glide around in long, ghostly white and funereal, foreboding black gowns. The walls are painted blood red and contrasting pure white- love and anger. The art designer has done well to compose a scene that is clearly identifiable of the time period yet simple and sparse enough to remain timeless.

I found the atmosphere of the film highly strange. It was a constant build up of tension, hints of the supernatural and even horror. Bergman succeeds in melding the family tensions with the foreboding atmosphere. It could work as a great mood piece, but the characters are extremely well drawn out and engaging. There are a few moments of real terror, but not in the conventional sense. These moments are borne out of inner turmoil and result in self mutilation, rejection and bewilderment.

Quite possibly the best Ingmar Bergman I have seen so far.

9/10