Review of Shame (1968) by Ryan H — 20 Jul 2010

Skammen is an emotional and difficult film to watch due to it's originality and brutal honesty. The movie opens with Eva getting out of bed with her shirt open. Jan sits up in his bed and rubs his head. This is a passionless marriage. They might love each other, but the excitement of love has long been extinguished. These two characters are set in the middle of a war in a place that is never specifically said. Most films would have shown the war tearing apart a couple, but instead there are times when the war brings them closer together. This doesn't last long, but it does happen every once in a while.

SPOILERS.

Eva can't stand Jan because he is too emotional. We know that Jan has cheated on his wife once before and she knows this. Perhaps this is why she is so cold to him. We see later Eva has an affair with Jacobi. I love the way that Bergman tells the audience that Eva has become something short of a prostitute by having Jacobi put the money on her bed. He says she can say it's an inheritance, but isn't that what the powerful businessmen say to their hookers when they use them over and over again (I'm thinking about Mamet's play Race)? Jan gets so disgusted about this when he finds the money on the bed, then they switch roles and Jan becomes the cold one and Eva becomes emotional. But Jan goes even crazier, he hides the money and kills Jacobi, then kills a boy so that he can take his boots. Perhaps the war has put Jan and Eva on edge to make them react in certain ways, but these are true characters following their emotions rather than simply making their choices on the war around them. Shame is one of the most beautifully shot films from Bergman. I will always remember the scene when the soldiers tear up their home, burn it, and kill their chickens. Of course it's emotional in those moments, but the images connect with the scenes perfectly. This is one of Bergman's best films.