Smiles of a Summer Night
1955
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
And so, we begin our Bergman journey with this film, Smiles of a Summer Night. In my opinion, Bergman is one of the most pretentious filmmakers that has ever existed. There are a ridiculous amount of Bergman films on the list, however, so I have plenty of opportunities to change my mind.
Unfortunately, this movie did not change my mind in the slightest. When you think of Bergman, you think of chess and Death. Not exactly fun or light topics. However, this was a Bergman comedy which is about as surprising as a Spielberg romcom or Taratino musical.
This film is loosely based off of A Midsummer Night's Dream. In the duration of one night, couples change partners and fun is supposedly had.
Would it be immature to say that I simply didn't like the movie because it wasn't funny? I feel like I should go deeper than that. However, call me crazy, but if I film is labelled a comedy, I expect to laugh and not be bored out of mind.
No one claims that Bergman's strength is in comedies, so I suppose he can be forgiven for this one. Still, as dull as dull can be.
RATING: *----
Interesting Facts:
Bergman was going through such a rough time during filming of this movie that he claimed that if he hadn't made this film, he would have committed suicide. Oh, dear. Well then, I guess I am glad that he made it.
One Time Magazine's list of top 100 films of all time. Oh, come on.
I think this is a comedy in the traditional sense, as in comedy vs. tragedy based on the ending.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this movie. The women were portrayed as intelligent and sexual beings, and the storylines were great. The acting was amazing as well. Everyone look gorgeous and I love any story about sexy rich people being so strategic, arranging their words and their parties for maximum effect. This is one of my favorites.
Thank you again Rachel. Let Amanda call both of us pretentious..
ReplyDeleteAmanda, you know by now I am quite a Bergman fan. This one is quite different to most of his stuff, and I found it a delight. So there.
Haha I don't think you guys are pretentious! Although I do want to join your club and find something enjoyable in this director.
ReplyDeleteI am with Rachel and Ray on this one. I found it quite amusing although Swedish humor is often droll. I love the characters painted and I love that Bergman had these gorgeous women to work with.
ReplyDeleteI'll side with the crowd, I'm afraid - thumbs up for this one. And there were little bits that reminded me of The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries.
ReplyDelete*slowly waves a white flag*
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