Women’s faces showcase Ingmar Bergman restored

The National Cinema Museum is presenting a film showcase, Women’s faces. Ingmar Bergman restored at the Cinema Massimo, from Monday 8 to Thursday 24 January, featuring nine films, selected between restored and digitalized ones by the great Swedish film-maker.

 

Ingmar Bergman continues to be considered one of the seminal post-World War II authors by film historians. The intensity of his images and the analytical strength of his stories remain a beacon that illuminates the path of many contemporary authors. After his death, eleven years ago, the heritage of his films began to undergo a long and complex process of digitalization. The Museum is proposing the result of this first working phase by creating a path that highlights the extraordinary performances of his actresses, from Eva Dahlbeck to Harriet Andersson, from Ingrid Thulin to Bibi Andersson, up to Liv Ullmann, who was the director's partner for years.

 

The showcase will be inaugurated on Monday 8 January at 4.00 p.m. at the Cinema Massimo on Screen Three, by the screening of the film Summer Interlude (Sweden, 1951). Admission 6.00/4.00/3.00 euro.

 

Screenings calendar

 

Summer Interlude (Sommarlek)

(Sweden 1951, 96’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

A Stockholm Opera ballerina (Maj-Britt Nilsson recalls the memories of a happy summer spent at the seaside with a student who afterwards died tragically. Bergman's tenth film, which opens the way for his international success.

Mon 8, at 4.00 p.m./Tue 23, at 6.00 p.m.

 

Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika)

(Sweden 1953, 96’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Monica (Harriet Andersson) and Henry, both cashiers and both with a difficult life in common, meet in a shabby café in the harbour. He is an orphan on his mother’s part and lives with his sick father, she is part of a large family that has to endure the excesses of an alcoholic father.

Mon 8, at 6.00 p.m./Sun 14, at 6.00 p.m.

 

Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas afton)

(Sweden 1953, 93’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Albert, a circus director, who has tired of the relationship binding him to rider Anne (Harriet Andersson), tries to return with his wife Agda, but she rejects him. At the same time, however, Anne has already betrayed him with local theatre actor Frans.

Tue 9, at 4.00 p.m./Fri 12, at 6.00 p.m.

 

Dreams (Kvinnodröm)

(Sweden 1955, 87’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Two friends, Susanne (Eva Dahlbeck) and Doris (Harriet Andersson), live rather similar sentimental stories. Susanne, the director of an atelier, loves Henrik, a married man who lives in another city. In order to meet him, she leaves for Gothenburg with a pretext, along with her friend. Doris, in turn, meets an older man who falls for her and gives her clothes and jewellery.

Tue 9, at 6.00 p.m./Fri 12, at 4.00 p.m.

 

Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället)

(Sweden 1957, 91’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Elderly doctor Borg (Victor Sjöström) leaves by car with his daughter-in-law Sara (Bibi Andersson) to go to the University of Lund and collect a prestigious award. The trip is an opportunity for the two to get to know each other more deeply and to stop in the places of the man's past.

Tue 9, at 8.30 p.m./Sun 14, at 4.00 p.m.

 

Brink of Life (Nära livet)

(Sweden 1958, 84’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Three women meet in a clinic, all three struggling, in their own way, with their pregnancies. Cecilia (Ingrid Thulin), an intellectual afflicted by an insensitive husband, has the confirmation that she cannot be a mother. Stina (Eva Dahlbeck) has a husband who loves her and is expecting their first child. The third woman, Hjòrdis (Bibi Andersson), the youngest, begins to desire the birth of her son, whom, instead, she had been wanting to reject.

Wed 10, at 4.00 p.m./Wed 17, at 6.00p.m.

 

The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukällan)

(Sweden 1960, 89’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Karin (Birgitta Pettersson), the young daughter of Töre (Max von Sydow), a rich Venge landowner, is raped and killed by three shepherds whom she met in the woods. The three murderers then find shelter in the girl's house but one of the three tries to sell Karin’s dress to her mother, and the terrible truth is discovered.

Wed 10, at 6.00 p.m./Wed 17, at 4.00 p.m.

 

Persona

(Sweden 1966, 85’, HD, b/w, o.v. it. s/t)

Elisabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann), a theatre and cinema actress, suddenly shuts herself in the most absolute silence. Alma (Bibi Andersson), her nurse, tries to awaken her from her apathy by talking to her about her own private life with long monologues.

Wed 10, at 8.30 p.m./Tue 23, at 4.00 p.m.

 

Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap)

(Sweden 1973, 173’, HD, col., o.v. it. s/t)

Divided into six chapters, it is an analysis of the relationship between the couple Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johann (Erland Josephson) over a period of ten years. In the last chapter, now divorced and remarried, they find themselves after seven years, more mature and adults.

Sat 13, at 8.30 p.m./Wed 24, at 4.00 p.m.