Cries & Whispers - Criterion Collection (1972)

Lesser Bergman

Cries And Whispers, (Viskningar Och Rop) a 1972 film of Ingmar Bergman's, which was consistently and highly lauded around the world, upon its release, is not a great film, nor anywhere the masterpiece that it's claimed to be. That said, it's not a bad film, merely an interesting and lesser one from his oeuvre that is laced with some very odd moments, some really bad moments, and some cringingly self-conscious moments that show Bergman at his auteur and poseur worst, far in excess, even, of his much better 1966 self-conscious opus film Persona. Having long been a Woody Allen fan one can see manifest Bergmanian influences in such Allen films as Interiors and Another Woman. This is not necessarily a good thing, since this film often bogs down in its artsy preciousness, and determination to try to wring every bit of melodrama out of the slightest human actions. At his worst, Bergman hammers his viewers over the head with rather puerile and obvious symbolism, such as the insistence of the color red and blood, which haunts the mansion's décor, and is used as filmic dissolves, in this film which basically recounts the death of an early 20th Century Swedish rich woman, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), as her two sisters, Karin (Ingrid Thulin) and Maria (Liv Ullman- who also plays the sisters' mother in flashbacks) bicker over what is to become of her and the huge estate they inherited. Bergman's multi-linear narrative approach, while interesting, does little to serve the film's real story, nor create audience empathy for the characters.
It is a very despairing film, and bleaker than the usual Bergmanian dourness. Nothing much happens, except that Agnes slowly suffocates to death because of a cancer, presumably in her lungs, and the two other sisters go mad, and rage and bicker at each other. Even worse, is that there is great psychological violence in the two healthy sisters' marriages.... The core of the film, however, is Bergman's overweening symbolism, for it is so obvious, and the main characters simply act in such over the top, grandiose ways that no one in real life would, that the viewer is forced to find non-rational motivations for them- i.e.- what does the director mean with this rather than why would the character do this? In that sense, this film is pure artifice, and not organic in any sense. Sylwan, as Anna, especially, basically just sleepwalks through her almost horror film level performance. The cinematography of Sven Nykvist, and the use of red to make the film almost all hallucinatory, is outstanding, and in this regard the technical mastery of film that is exhibited overcomes, if only slightly, the film's many flaws. It's no surprise that Cries and Whispers won the first of two Best Cinematography Oscars for Nyqvist (the other was for Bergman's later Fanny And Alexander). Allen's own Interiors was a much better film, for it mediated its bleakness with truly deep and meaningful conversations, not just highly stylized and baroque monologues, as Bergman indulges in. Yet, later Allen films pushed this dual envelope even further, in his novels as films, such as Manhattan, Stardust Memories, Hannah And Her Sisters, Crimes And Misdemeanors, and Husbands And Wives.
Cries And Whispers, by contrast, is one dimensional, void of character development, empathy, and a compelling storyline, and it plays almost as a pre-PC PC screed about how females need to bond lest become as impotent as the males in their lives. In the end, only dead Agnes has peace, and that peace is merely a memory or delusion. Yes, bleak describes this film, and it is even more so when one considers how Bergman hermetically seals off his characters from the audience, thus recapitulating the characters' detachment from each other by our own from them. While this might be technically devious, even brilliant and defensible, it simply goes too much against basic storytelling technique. Martin Scorsese portrayed inner loneliness and impotence much better in his 1984 film, The King Of Comedy, giving the viewer both a sense of the main character's frustrations, and allowing the audience to empathize with that impotence, rather than feel it along with him. Here, pain is merely an end to itself, and the viewer simply does not care, for we never know what brought the sisters to this state, are never let inside their lives, and are given no reason to desire exploration. A better title would have been The Glass Menagerie, for that's what all the characters are: transparent, fragile, and small. But, Tennessee Williams took that one, and his is a much better zoo of the human soul.
September 10, 2008

Family and servants, death and dying

It is quiet September day and we are inside the house, sparsely but beautifully arranged. There are four women in a house: Agnes, Maria, Karen and Anna. The first three are sisters, while Anna is a housekeeper. They are together because Agnes is dying; she is sick with cancer and women are keeping vigil in attempt to make her last days more comfortable. In between doctor's visits and attacks of unbearable pain, Agnes is drawing and writing her journal. She adores Anna's attention and the closer death approaches, more comfort and care is given to her by Anna. In the quiet time in between, the other two sisters remember their other times and visits at the house. Maria had an affair with the family doctor in the same house and her husband attempted suicide knowing intuitively that he may loose her. Karen on the other hand, remembers her vacation in the house in between her husband's diplomatic duties/assignments overseas. Their marriage is not a happy one either. Karen resents her marriage and her husband so much, that she inflicts unbelievable pain on herself in order to keep her spouse at the distance. One cannot but feel sorry for these women's internal torment. Sisters' represssion, marriages, children and hopeless domestication inflicts such unhappines, they are unable to communicate to each other. Days of their happy childhood is gone and all is left is resentment, mutual hatred and sarcasm for people and life around them. For just a moment, it seems that Agnes' death can bring them together, but perhaps the knowledge that Agens and Anna were emotionally attached to each other for 12 years is what the other two sistes are unable to accept. They reject each other perphaps due to some latent memory of incestual relationship from the childhood, or was it due to rivalry for their mother's love, or jealousy towards' Agens' independence (she was the only one not to marry and have family). The scene where the clergyman comes to pray for Agnes' soul after she dies and the souls of the ones left behind brought emotional turmoil to me personally. I do not know how old Bergman was when he made this movie but he surely did understand, even then, what love,life and death are all about. Beautiful costumes, beautiful women/female actresses, impeccable style and absolute masterpiece. August 18, 2008

The passion of Agnes

The more I watch Bergman's "Cries and Whispers," the more struck I am that it's really a cinematic passion of Christ. Bergman, of course, repudiated his Lutheran upbringing, and claims to have exorcised himself of its influence through crafting the so-called "first trilogy" of films ("Through a Glass Darkly," "Winter Light," and "The Silence"). Exorcised or not, though, Bergman returns to themes drawn from the Christian mythos again and again in his films, especially the notion of sacrifice.

In "Cries and Whispers," Agnes (reminiscent of Agnus dei, "lamb of God"), is an innocent sufferer who throughout her entire life has endured horrible health. The film chronicles her final hours--her passion--and contrasts her selflessness with the characters of her two attending sisters: Karin (Ingrid Thulin), a hate-filled, cold person, and Maria (Liv Ullman), a narcissistic, childish one. They, the two "disciples" in this allegory, fail to remain true to Agnes during her passion. The only loyal "disciple" is Anna (Kari Sylwan), a servant girl who at one point in the film cradles the dead Agnes in a classic pieta pose.

The Christ allegory is underscored by the prayer of Pastor Isak (Anders Ek, who appears as the harlequin in Bergman's much earlier "Sawdust and Tinsel") as he kneels over Agnes' body. Agnes, he says, had a faith stronger than his own. Agnes now sits beside God, and Isak asks her to intercede for him and everyone else. It's not clear if Agnes' sacrifice will "save" her sisters. But Anna is a clear beneficiary.

Yet the Christ's passion allegory is never heavy-handed or clumsy. This is one of Bergman's most nuanced films, and bears watching many times. It's also one of the best-acted. Ullman is brilliant as the childish, sensual, self-focused Maria. Thulin is terrifying as the icy Karin. At one point, she slowly undresses for bed until she's completely nude in front of the camera. Although her body is quite beautiful, Thulin manages somehow to exude a disdain for it and for all things of the flesh that is incredibly chilling. It takes an incredible talent to transform an erotic moment into one so alienating.

But the laurel has to go to Harriet Andersson's Agnes. As a hospital chaplain at one point in my life, I watched many patients die. Andersson's portrayal of a dying person is astoundingly authentic. I have no idea how she prepared for this role. But I'm confident it will never be topped.

Six stars. August 8, 2008

A House of Pain!

After viewing this one time, you might ask yourself ...what the hell was all that about??? It clearly leaves one feeling uneasy and misunderstood.

The first noticeable thing is how Bergmann sets the mood with colors, first the innocence and purity in the white dresses, then fiery and demonic red for walls and carpet, to the brooding and gloomy mood with black. The creation of the Victorian era, the striking furniture in the manor house, to the period hairstyles of the cast was an excellent depiction. Bergman employs the use of close-up camera work when he focuses on facial emotions and movement of hands. The cast is well-portrayed.

The complex multilayered story begins with the dying and agonizing Agnes, who many believe it was cancer, although through the quality of the translations, I did not acknowledge that. Her two callous, cold sisters are now here to aid the long-time caregiver Anna.

And the tortured souls of the sisters slowly unfolds. Maria and Karin have no relationship with each other, they are in lifeless, loveless marriages, and both are afraid to touch their dying sister when she needs that human empathic connection as she dies. It is the caregiver Anna who is the only person who can offer the touch even though it, too, is bizarre with hints at lesbianism.

Briefly, we learn further about the sisters' anguish as the husbands of Maria and Karin appear in flashback, but otherwise offer nothing more to the plot. But you will grasp that something happened within their childhood, sinister, incestual??

This film will leave one with questions, uncertainity, with its complexity, as its themes are anguish, turmoil, pain, unfaithfulness, lesbianism, self-mutiliation lonliness, and death. If it's your first Bergman film, you might see it again.

The subtitles move quick, dialogue is plenty, and on the DVD there is an interesting chat with Bergman. Ingmar Bergman, a master filmmaker, died in July 2007 at 89. Excellent film....Rizzo
January 15, 2008

The Artistry of Ingmar Bergman

If ever there was a film that literally depicts the title of a film, Ingmar Bergman's 1972 CRIES AND WHISPERS deserves that distinction because of the painful and agonizing howls that come from several of the actors. The film is extremely dramatic and shows Bergman's filmmaking trait of portraying the human condition. There are several themes within the film, which involve masochistic tendencies and gender roles, but the film would not be a Bergman film without religion, which he subtly shows in several scenes.

The film takes place during the turn of the century, which resonates the harsh aspects of the Victorian Age. However, Bergman reflects on events of the period in which it was made, 1970s women's liberation movement. The film revolves around three sisters, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), bed-ridden with cancer, Karin (Ingrid Thulin) and Maria (Liv Ullman) who are in lifeless marriages, and Anna (Kari Sylwan), the young unmarried maid and caregiver. The men in the film, David the doctor (Erland Josephson), Karin's husband (George Arlin) and Maria's husband (Henning Moritzen), are merely background fixtures who have little or no dialogue in the film, and possibly portray the troubling aspect of the women's non-communicative relationships. The most surprising and underdog character of the film is Anna, the most sympathetic and motherly character who attempts to take care of Agnes and her sisters.

The cinematography and screenplay are exceptional. Bergman's technique of using the colors of red, white, and black are effective in portraying the mood and thoughts of the characters as well as the use of close-ups and the sounds of silences in between the brief dialogue, which makes the film the most memorable. And there is little or no soundtrack to the film, but the strength of the movie comes from the superb acting.

CRIES AND WHISPERS may be one of those films that may jerk emotional reactions because of its horrific portrayal of the period in which it depicts in women's history. And it may interest period film viewers. Indeed, the film is similar to Woody Allen's most serious film, INTERIORS, but Bergman's finale is much different and worth watching.


November 11, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...