Review of Fanny and Alexander (1982) by Anoop R — 25 May 2008

While making Fanny and Alexander, Ingmar Bergman announced that it would be his last film. I was revisiting the film yesterday night, and I found out why.

Fanny and Alexander is a very personal, autobiographical film. Bergman made a film that works like magic, you cannot merely watch it- you experience it. When I watched this film for the first time, alone in a dark room two months back, I was transferred into the world of Fanny and Alexander. It was like pure magic. There aren't many movies which works likes that, except a few like Akira Kurosawa's DREAMS.

Unlike other Bergman films like Persona or Cries and Whispers, which would keep disturbing you for days, Fanny and Alexander is a treat to watch, though it has its share of uneasy moments.

Fanny and Alexander could be watched in two ways- either relating it to Bergman's life and his other films, or as the movie itself. The experience is highly rewarding either ways.

Alexander in the film is Bergman himself. The film is a journey to Bergman's childhood, if you've read 'Magic Lantern', you'll realise it easliy. That is why Bergman wanted this to be his final film. On one hand, it is an introduction to other works of Bergman, on the other, it is a conclusion. Fanny and Alexander is about Bergman's fears and doubts that had haunted him all his life, all the questions he posed and tried to find answers for. It tells what Bergman has been trying to tell through all his films- human conscience and its unending battle with god, religion, society and itself.

Bergman used to hate his childhood, hated his father, who was a priest.Bergman tries to create a happy childhood that he never had. In Fanny and Alexander, his father is depicted as the cruel stepfather of Alexander, from whom Alexander tries to escape. Fanny and Alexander is all about the two worlds- one which Bergman lived in; and the one which he wanted to live in. Alexander is pushed to the world he hates- and he escapes from it. Meanwhile, he creates his world of dreams, comes face to face with god and other questions that was haunting Bergman all his life.

On the other hand, Fanny and Alexander is a sweet film, much more lovable than a film like Forrest Gump. Its also about what it means to be human- how we all are endowed with virtues along with a fair share of vices. Its also a journey into human mind- all those things that make us live the way we live.

Sven Nykvist, without doubt, the world's greatest cinematogapher, is at his best here.

I remember reading a interview with Bergman, where he says- "at the end of every day, when we all go to sleep, we will have those shoes on, the one which we all wore in our childhood". 'Fanny and Alexander' is about those shoes that made Bergman, Bergman.

P.S: the film is 190 mins long. I've heard there is a longer 312 mins version, and i'm in the quest for that.