Älskande par (Loving Couples)
Posted by martinteller on April 16, 2009
You could mistake this for a Bergman film at first glance. It’s shot by Sven Nykvist, and it’s got a number of his favorite actors. In fact, director Mai Zetterling was herself in a couple of films. Even the basic plotline, the stories of three very different women in a maternity ward, is the same as Brink of Life. Zetterling focuses more on the events that got them there, in an extensive series of flashbacks (which is itself not unlike Secrets of Women), which reach a climax involving all three characters coming together at a midsummer gathering (think Smiles of a Summer Night). I liked childlike, carefree, hedonistic Agda (Harriet Andersson) and bitter, gloomy alcoholic Adele (Gunnel Lindblom). But I wasn’t too intrigued by Angela (Gio Petré), who felt lifeless and underdeveloped, despite having the most screen time. Now maybe it’s a coincidence that the Bergman regulars got the more interesting parts, or maybe I liked them more because of their association with Bergman. Or the more likely explanation: Bergman chose to work with actors who knew how to get the most out of a part (Petré did have a small role in Wild Strawberries, though). Nykvist’s photography is beautiful, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that the story seems to drag and meander nowhere whenever it focuses on Angela. I’m on the fence about my rating, but since Andersson and Lindblom are so good, I’ll go with 7. But it’s a low 7. Rating: 7
