Open Writing

Not Solely For Pleasure

'Great' films, 'best' films, 'favourite' films — what would you choose? In the end, it all depends on personal taste and preference. Some films are 'great' because they convey so much through their simplicity. David Lean's 'Brief Encounter' (1945) comes to mind. Others are 'great' because of their size, scope, complexity and characters. Another David Lean film is in this category — 'Doctor Zhivago', released in 1965. Whatever our personal tastes, there is no doubt that David Lean was a great director.

Also among the greats was the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman. He, too, had a long and productive career but is less well known among English-speaking audiences. His choice of subject matter was not exactly suited to wide appeal. In films such as 'The Seventh Seal' (1956) and 'Through a Glass Darkly' (1961), he dealt dramatically and introspectively with very deep issues. His was the world of loneliness, conflict, morality, torment, and death.

His delightful 1975 'Trollföjten', Mozart's 'The Magic Flute', featuring the young Håkan Hagegård has been described as the best film of an opera ever made. It is available on DVD in the Criterion Collection. The English translation of the script of 'Wild Strawberries' (1957) was a set text in Year 12 of many Australian secondary schools.

Bergman said that 'Fanny and Alexander' (1982) was to be his final film, but he did make others later. It is semi-autobiographical, in that he draws on memories and images from his own childhood. It was awarded Oscars for Best Foreign Film, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Art Direction, and was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. As if that wasn't enough, it won many other awards and nominations.

'Fanny and Alexander' is not light entertainment to watch, enjoy for a short while, and then forget. The version shown in cinemas is about three hours long. The expanded and more detailed version produced as a serial for Swedish television runs for five hours and is available on a set of two DVD's. They need to be viewed more than once in order fully to appreciate the story, characters, symbols and magic. There is a great deal of visual beauty and joy to be relished, as well as bleakness and despair.

The initial setting is the luxurious home of the Ekdahl family in the early 1900's. In the Prologue, we see a close-up of Alexander, aged 10, playing with his toy theatre. It is significant that he is behind the stage, not in front of it, looking at the cut-out model actors and moving just one of them, a grandly dressed lady. Printed along the top of the proscenium are the words 'Ei Blot Til List', 'Not solely for pleasure'. This in itself is a hint of what is to come.

The closing minutes of the Epilogue show Alexander resting on his beloved grandmother's lap while she reads aloud from a play by August Strindberg, the Swedish writer: 'Anything can happen, anything is possible and likely. Time and space do not exist. Against a faint background of reality, imagination spins out and weaves new patterns.'

Between the Prologue and the Epilogue, we journey with Alexander, his younger sister Fanny, and their extended family, through just one year of life, and death. It is a journey we can never forget.

Note: There are many reviews of this film on the Internet. However, much of what follows in these notes arises from my own observation and occasionally deals with aspects which seem to have been overlooked by other reviewers. Useful references will be given at the end of the 7th article

© Copyright Brian Barratt 2008.