.jeri.

Autumn Sonata is another Ingmar Bergman movie. I just looked him up and realized how many times he was married. He and Liz Taylor should have hooked up. What brought that on? I just wanted to see if he was ever married to Liv Ullman since she starred in so many of his movies. They never married, but she did mother one of his (many) children. But this movie also stars one of the greatest actresses of all time, Ingrid Bergman (no relation to the director).

Bergman plays Charlotte, a famous pianist, who comes to stay at her grown daughter's home for a while after having lost a close friend. She hasn't seen Eva, in many years. It comes as a surprise to her that her other daughter, Helena, lives with Eva and her husband. Helena suffers from some sort of neurological condition and her motor skills have deteriorated, and Charlotte can barely face her. When she does, she turns on a performance. She seems to be giving a performance most of the time when she interacts with others. It doesn't take long for her presence in the house to remind Eva of all the emotional issues she has with her mother, and it's only a matter of time until they unfurl.

There are so many interesting elements to this movie that I don't think I have time to fully address any of them. The whole thing starts off with an introduction to Eva by her own husband, who speaks directly to the camera and serves as some sort of benevolent, omniscient presence that supports her without interfering in her problems. What he reveals is that he loves Eva but she is open about not loving him, or not being accepting of his love. The fact that he's a minister and some of the comments he makes throughout the movie left me a little uncertain of how to interpret his character. Helena serves as another interesting character, especially the possibility that her level of health represents Eva's emotional state. (I wish I could admit I thought of all of these ideas on my own, but I may have done a little reading online that inspired some of them.)

Between this movie and several others from Bergman, it's easy to see that he always wore his heart on his sleeve. His movies always reflect on some interest/issue in his own life, and this one examines love and parenting in a way that seems very personal. I think his flashbacks are almost always his most poignant scenes, and very often they reveal secrets or bring something new to light. They always feel like glimpses into a real past, and often feel so real that I feel like an intruder watching them. Then again, I felt like an intruder during a lot of this movie, so maybe it's not just the flashbacks. The climactic conversation between Eva and Charlotte is certainly something to behold.

Speaking of Charlotte and Eva, how amazing Bergman and Ullman are! This was Bergman's final movie role, and she plays Charlotte's busy, ignorant/retreating character so well it's painful. She was nominated for an Oscar for it, and that was a very well-deserved nomination. Of course, I would have nominated Ullman just as easily for her ability to go from zero to one hundred in intensity.

While Autumn Sonata sometimes feels like a play, the deliberate staging and framing of each scene is often very admirable. One of the scenes that stands out is the one above, where Eva plays the piano for her mother, and then her mother follows by showing her how it ought to be played. Ooh. Some of the shots of Ullman are just outstanding.

This movie worked so much more for me than Cries and Whispers, and I think that's because it wasn't so vague, and the undercurrents were allowed to come to the surface. I appreciated so many elements of how the story unfolded, and if anything, I'm glad I saw it for the performances alone.