Ingmar Bergman interrupts "The Passion of Anna" four times with "interviews" of his actors. In the first and most shocking instance, Max von Sydow remarks on the difficulty of playing Andreas, a man with very little outward emotion. This technique--downright Godardian in its destruction of conventional filmic escapism--is way out of the ordinary for Bergman.
Andreas is a divorcee living in solitude on a small Swedish island. He meets Anna (Liv Ullmann) via two married friends. In typical Bergman fashion, they all have tragic inner and outer lives. "The Passion of Anna" is punctuated by trysting, violent emotional explosions, and existential musing.
Von Sydow's interview, and one each with Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, and Erland Josephson, segment "The Passion of Anna." Each interview is increasingly "scripted." That is, each one may be the thoughts of the actor on their character. But these thoughts are dense, metaphorical, and delivered free of extemporaneous pauses and hiccups. In these moments, the audience is aware of the artificiality of the film's content. It's also aware of Bergman's control over an entire world--the narrative, the characters, even the actor's interpretations of the characters.
Andreas is a divorcee living in solitude on a small Swedish island. He meets Anna (Liv Ullmann) via two married friends. In typical Bergman fashion, they all have tragic inner and outer lives. "The Passion of Anna" is punctuated by trysting, violent emotional explosions, and existential musing.
Von Sydow's interview, and one each with Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, and Erland Josephson, segment "The Passion of Anna." Each interview is increasingly "scripted." That is, each one may be the thoughts of the actor on their character. But these thoughts are dense, metaphorical, and delivered free of extemporaneous pauses and hiccups. In these moments, the audience is aware of the artificiality of the film's content. It's also aware of Bergman's control over an entire world--the narrative, the characters, even the actor's interpretations of the characters.
Chess probably isn't the best idea, guys.
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