Review of Hour of the Wolf (1968) by Tyler's S — 17 May 2010

Absolutely horrifying. Ingmar Bergman typically has moments in his films where we feel tense, but this is a different breed. This one reminded me of the way Blue Velvet made me feel. The beginning of the film Bergman sets us up to feel like this is a true story of an artist by giving us a quick opening saying that this film is told from the point of view of the wife who was there and read his diary.

We see the happiness of Johan and Alma, which is what most movies forget. This is the key because we understand why they are together, we care about them, we want them to succeed. Even though we have this bleak opener we still think there is hope that maybe he will be pulled out of it.

But when Alma says that when a man and woman live together long enough that they start to become the same person, and she wants to be that kind of couple, we are instantly pulled into a nightmare. She begins to see the people he's been drawing, the ones he is afraid of.

And once this begins there is no way out. After seeing this once I still have so many questions. I want to say that this movies is ultimately about marriage, but I can't grasp exactly what's being said.

Of course this film speaks on so many different levels. When we are plagued with guilt, is there a way out of it before it takes control? Johan tells his wife briefly about his, but she learns more through his diaries.

And once she gets it out these individual people decide it's time to fully torture him. This is the first film of Ingmar Bergman's I've seen with nudity in it, but it's done with purpose and it's executed perfectly.

I don't think I will ever forget when he touches Veronica's naked body and then she starts laughing, then he kisses her and everyone that has haunted him begins to laugh in the background. Perhaps that's another thing Bergman is trying to say: the more you hold in and make your life partner figure out on your own the more humiliating and dominating it becomes.

Johan has more than just schizophrenia. This is more along the lines of Shutter Island where he's seeing things not because of a chemical imbalance, but because of guilt. Perfect movie in every way.

Can't wait to see it again!