Writer/director Ingmar Bergman examines the strained relationship between a mother and daughter in “Autumn Sonata,” starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann. Eva (Ullmann) has not seen her mother, Charlotte (Bergman) in seven years; a successful concert pianist, Charlotte has spent a noble part of her life on the road, but after losing her long-time companion, Leonardo, Eva invites her to arrive to the parsonage where she and her minister husband, Viktor (Halvar Bjork), live, for an extended visit. Charlotte accepts, but soon after her arrival, passe wounds and feelings launch to surface, and the film becomes an intimate character observe of the life-long dysfunctional relationship between Charlotte and Eva, during which director Bergman intricately examines the causes and effects of all that has passed between them during their lives. It’s an in-depth witness at the emotional distress human beings are obliging of inflicting upon one another, and how fragile the line between care for and abominate becomes when subjected to incessant neglect by even one of the parties alive to. As the account unfolds and the principals bare their souls– at last revealing a lifetime’s worth of repressed feelings– it becomes an emotionally devastating experience for the audience, as well, for there is remarkable contained within the dynamics of this residence that most viewers will be able to identify with and represent to within their beget lives. Ingmar Bergman is a Master of presenting life as it truly is; reality– and portraying it on the screen– is his domain, and throughout his career he has veritably created almost a genre of his acquire in doing so. With a microscope of his beget form, he scrutinizes the basic instincts of the human condition, what makes people tick and how and why they recount to one another as they do. Noteworthy of what he presents is startling, and always emotionally attractive, because he penetrates so deeply and succinctly into the heart of the matter, as he demonstrates so superlatively with this film. His methods and style are novel, his talent unequivocal; many others have attempted to choose the essence of that which Bergman has perfected, but few have succeeded. Interestingly enough, Liv Ullmann is one who, as a director, has probably approach the closest to achieving that classic “sense” of Bergman, with her films “Private Confessions,” and “Faithless,” both of which were written by Bergman. In her role as Eva, Ullmann gives one of the best performances of her career, for which she should have at least been nominated for an Oscar; that she was not is nothing less than a disagreeable injustice. She so skillfully conveys the depth and complexities of her character, and the differing emotional levels to which Eva is subjected, that it creates a lasting impression and makes her someone with whom it is easy for the audience to sympathize. It makes you realize, upon reflection, what a truly gifted actress Ullmann is. And, as marvelous as Ullmann’s performance here is, it is equaled– though not, I would say– surpassed, by Ingrid Bergman’s portrayal (in her final theatrical appearance) of Charlotte; and in a renewal of faith that there is some justice in the world after all, she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for it. In retrospect, it seems somehow inevitable that the two Bergmans came together at last, though it’s somewhat lamentable that their career paths did not improper sooner. There is some consolation, however, in the fact that when they did finally join forces the result was such a worthy, memorable film. The supporting cast includes Lena Nyman (Helena), Gunnar Bjornstrand (Paul), Erland Josephson (Josef) and Linn Ullmann (Eva as a child) . An radiant, view provoking and emotionally wrenching film, highlighted by outstanding performances and beautifully photographed by Sven Nykvist, “Autumn Sonata” is an example of filmmaking at it’s best; it’s a lasting tribute, not only to the gargantuan talents of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann, but to Ingrid Bergman, one of the most pleasing and gifted actresses ever to grace the silver conceal.
Beginning with The Seventh Seal, I have been enamored with the austere and vivid world of Ingmar Bergman. His cinema is so literate and entertaining, without being unimaginative or preachy or devolving into baseless abstraction. Recently I was able to behold his 1978 film, Autumn Sonata, with Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Bergman and was touched by its emotional power.
Starting with an introductory monologue by Viktor, the pastor of the spot and husband of Eva, it sets the tone of the fragment and explains Eva’s feelings of lovelessness and distance. After hearing of the death of her mother’s lover, Eva invites her mother Charlotte to visit, and after a seven-year hiatus, the archaic professional pianist acquiesces. Eva’s feelings towards Charlotte are very complex and we seem them unfold throughout the film, the layers peeling away, eventually, on both sides.
Charlotte’s arrival shows a sophisticated and worldly older woman who is demanding and easily overshadowing of her composed daughter. Speedily upstaging the region, Charlotte breathlessly tells Eva the story of Leonardo’s lifeless death and her bedside vigil, suddenly changing gears when she hears her other daughter, Helena, is staying with Eva at the parsonage, and has been for several years. Charlotte’s face shows her shock clearly enough and would not have made the visit had she known. When she sees Lena’s deteriorated condition, spastic and only able to be understood by Eva, she quiet maintains control of the location, though we know she is internally at odds with her outward features.
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It is apparent Eva mild longs, like a child, for the approval of her mother. When she describes the feelings she has after the death of her son, Erik, her mother listens politely and doesn’t attempt to touch on the loyal emotions there. She stands in the glare of her maintain emotional spotlight and cannot shake the egoism that always surrounds her. The death of Erik created departures of different levels for his parents - one the one side, Viktor’s life “grayed again,” but Eva’s feelings for Erik were left uncorroded. She thinks of heaven as “a world of liberated feelings” and one night of insomnia with her mother brings about the chance to piece her right feelings with her.
Eva recounts to her mother all the missed time from her adolescence; when Charlotte was abroad lively foreign crowds and indulging her absorb selfish appetites. Eva’s wine bibbing loosens her tongue and it turns into a raw and emotional exchange. During this time, they fade from their mother/daughter roles and deal with the other - for the first time - as equals in adulthood. In her lengthy and handsome soliloquy, Eva states “you had the charge of all the words in our home.” A tremendous diagram to achieve it, and Bergman’s immense success in the writing of these difficult scenes is the lack of sentimentality and the balanced pathos. The scenes are emoted wonderfully by the two actors and captured beautifully by long-time Bergman cinematographer, Sven Nykvist. The film crescendos at this point and is heading for a recapitulation of all the elements, which marks a musical sonata. Autumn Sonata is a large film in the Bergman corpus and not to be missed.
