Secrets of Women (rewatch)

The thing about watching this for a second time is that you’re really just waiting for the third part.  Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand are absolutely magnificent, their delightful sparring is laugh-out-loud hilarious.  The first story is the most Bergmanesque, full of that bitterness he loved to explore… but it just doesn’t add up to much, and it’s territory he covered before and after in more satisfying and enlightening ways.  The second part is a step up… some of Gunnar Fischer’s photography is truly outstanding, not just the can-can scene but throughout Marta and Martin’s courtship, which contains some of Bergman’s sweetest moments.  But again, it doesn’t go anywhere and in the end seems pretty pointless.  But once you get to Dahlbeck and Bjornstrand in that elevator, all is forgiven.  Ingmar isn’t known much for his comedy, but every once in a while he really nailed it.  I’d forgotten that there’s another pregnancy in this movie… he sure was fixated on maternity in his early years.  Rating: 7

IMDb