Autumn Sonata

“Autumn Sonata”, a psychological drama, was shot by an iconic Swedish director Ingmar Bergman in 1978.

He didn’t only direct the film, but also wrote the script. Two brilliant actresses played the main parts in the movie. One of them was Ingrid Bergman, certainly one of the most beautiful women to ever appear in a film, but that is not the source of her mysterious appeal. There is something there, in that voice and those eyes and in the way her mouth thinks words before she says them in the movies. It took Ingmar Bergman thirty-five years to finally cast her, and then, in her fortieth year as an actress, Ingrid Bergman called “Autumn Sonata” her last film. It was “Autumn Sonata” that paired the two celebrated Sweden's film artists for their only joint effort; and Ingrid gave nothing less than the performance of her lifetime.

Ingrid Bergman performs opposite Liv Ullmann, who is herself good enough to meet her on the same very high level. They play mother and daughter and the plot focuses on their relationship. The mother, Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman) is a world famous pianist. She last saw her daughter Eva (Liv Ullmann) seven years ago. She's too busy and always travelling and booked up almost every night of the week and …, it’s small wonder she’s terrified of coming face to face with her daughter. There are, in fact, two daughters: the one played by Ullmann, who is serious and introspective, filled with guilt, blame and love; and then, the other daughter Helena (Lena Nyman), who lives with her, and who suffers from a degenerative nerve disease. The mother's solution to this daughter's illness was to place her in a “home”; Eva took her out of the institution two years ago and is taking care of her at home. So, one day in early autumn when the mother arrives for her visit, she has no idea that the sick daughter is going to be there. Her response, when she learns about it, is dismay. She realizes she can’t deal with the illness and in fact she can’t be a mother at all. She doesn't merely reject the responsibility; she flees from it.

The action of “Autumn Sonata” takes place over one long day and painful night in which the pleasantries of the opening hours give way to deeper and deeper terror and guilt, accusations and renunciations, cries and whispers. And Ingmar Bergman, detaching himself from this material refuses to come up with any solutions. He only depicts two people, each demanding love from the other, each doomed by the past to lose the ability to love. This is very difficult material. Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann address it with courage and skill that are astonishing. Besides, it was very important to Ingrid Bergman to play in her native language for the first time and to work with one of the most outstanding film directors. It is not just that “Autumn Sonata” was Ingrid Bergman's last film. It's that she knew she had to make it before she died.