Review of Autumn Sonata (1978) by Jay N — 16 Nov 2009

The last Bergman I saw was The Silence, which I wasn't much into. Autumn Sonata with the save! This felt more at home for me with his films; the film was a build-up of tension between, essentially, two characters, until they explode and pour out their life stories against one another, a daughter coping with her mother and her mother's way of handling her daughter.

The dialogue is razor-sharp, and for such a short film, it admirably handles many different themes. Bergman brings forth the ugliness in family relationships and in human beings, as Charlotte seems to not appreciate her quiet and loyal husband, and both women seem to put the pettiness of their ways above Helena, who has to truly struggle every day, with an inability to even express herself or get dressed in the morning without aid.

There is a lot to talk about, and the film gets more and more uncompromising as Liv Ullman and Ingrid Bergman (in her final role on screen) have a "who is the more explosive actress" fight. I think Ullman wins; to be honest, I love Liv in everything I've seen her in, but she takes the cake in Autumn Sonata.

Just wretched and anguished monologuing. Unforgettable performance, and this is one of my most deared Bergmans. I will say that the DVD transfer of this is absolutely awful; there's so much noise.

This could certainly use a Blu-Ray.