Ingmar Bergman

Notes

notes The principle of dynamic drive on which most of Bergman’s best films are constructed, and which expressed itself most typically in the form of a journey, is equally apparent on a much wider scale in the development of his work as a whole. For this reason it seemed inevitable that the following survey should respect chronology. At the same time, an artist never develops in a perfectly straight line, work by work. A main line of development may seem to disappear for a time, like a stream going underground, then reemerge in a new form; there are likely to be cross-currents and an occasional backwater. In Bergman’s work, for example, both Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) and Wild Strawberries (1957) develop out of A Lesson in Love (1954); between the two earlier films comes Journey into Autumn (1955), which has strong links with Sawdust and Tinsel (1953); before Wild Strawberries came The Seventh Seal (1957), which in certain important respects is more clearly connected with The Face (1958) than with either of its immediate neighbors. I have not hesitated, therefore, while preserving an overall chronology, to depart from it in detail in order to trace a particular line of development. Usually, these lapses from chronology will be made clear by explicit reference; any momentary confusion the Notes 2 method may cause can be cleared up by a glance at the filmography at the end of the book. Many of the British and American titles of Bergman’s films are inaccurate, ranging from total substitutions to subtle distortions . It seems worth pointing out the following: Fängelse means “Prison,” not The Devil’s Wanton. Sommarlek means “Summer Games,” not Summer Interlude. The film is not about an interlude but the transience of the joyful innocence of youth. Kvinnors väntan means “Women’s Waiting,” not Waiting Women. It is the waiting that the film is about. Gycklarnas afton doesn’t mean Sawdust and Tinsel but (approximately ) “Night of the Clowns”; the American title, The Naked Night, is rather good if one overlooks its sensationalistic overtones, as the metaphorical stripping of the characters is a main theme. Kvinnodröm means “Women’s Dreams”; Journey into Autumn has a loose relevance but a wrong emphasis—it would be a more appropriate title for Sommarlek. Sommarnattens leende means “Smiles of the Summer Night.” To point this out is not mere pedantry. The reference is to Åke Fridell’s speech about the summer night having three smiles for different kinds of lovers. “Smiles of a Summer Night” has an oh-la-la quality not present in the Swedish. Nattvardsgästerna means “The Communicants,” not Winter Light: curious that the English title furthest removed from the original should be (as an alternative) the most acceptable of all these. För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor, rendered in English as Now About These Women, should really be “Not to speak about all Notes 3 these women.” Besides directly contradicting the original, the translation lacks its delightful prolixity. For the sake of clarity and convenience I shall use the English titles (apart from a refusal to call Prison anything but Prison); but readers might as well have the nuances of the originals clear in their minds. ...