Film Review
Dreams is a comparatively minor work in the filmography
of Ingmar Bergman, made just before the two films that secured his
international reputation:
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
and
The Seventh Seal (1957).
Different in tone and subject from the kind of film that Bergman is most
strongly associated with (dense, contemplative studies in faith
and human relationships)
Dreams is a
light romantic drama, of the kind the director frequently tackled in his early period,
from the late 1940s to early 1950s.
The film features Harriet Andersson, Bergman's former lover and the
star of his earlier film,
Summer with Monika (1953).
Less stylised and challenging than the director's subsequent films,
Dreams
resembles a conventional mix of melodrama and romantic comedy of this era.
It is certainly a very different kind of film from Bergman's subsequent films
- much lighter in tone, much less angst-ridden, far less philosophical - but
the author's distinctive imprint can be felt throughout, in the meticulous
mise-en-scène and his intense concern for human beings.
What makes the film instantly identifiable as Bergman's work is the alluring chiaroscuro cinematography and his skilful
use of the close-up which make dialogue superfluous and convey, far more profoundly
than words, the feelings and motivating impulses of the protagonists. It's a sign
of Bergman's humanity and extraordinary artistic talent that such an anodyne tale of transient
love is told with such sensitivity, insight and poetry - a foretaste of the
greater films that were yet to come.
© James Travers 2007
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Ingmar Bergman film:
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Film Synopsis
Susanne Frank is a fashion photographer with a successful agency in Stockholm. Doris
is her favourite model, a sensitive and naïve young woman. Having ended her
relationship with her boyfriend, Palle, Doris agrees to accompany Susanne on a trip to
the town of Gothenburg, ostensibly for a photo shoot. Susanne's ulterior motive
for the trip is to try to rekindle an affair with her former lover, Henrik, who is now
settled with a wife and family. Whilst drifting around Gothenburg, Doris encounters a
kindly middle-aged man, Consul Otto Sönderby, who offers her expensive gifts and
persuades her to spend the afternoon with him. Later, Susanne is reunited with her
lover, but the liaison proves to be brief….
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.