Film Review
The Devil's Eye is something of an oddity in
the filmography of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman - an eccentric comedy affording a rare
excursion into the fantasy genre. Stylistically, the film is a world apart from
the kind of film Bergman is generally known for, eschewing realism for a quirky kind of
theatricality. However, the themes which the film explores are recognisably Bergmanesque
- matters of religion, love and the nature of existence.
The film was certainly not one of Bergman's favourites. He only agreed to make
it as part of a deal with Carl-Anders Dymling, head of Svensk Filmindustri, to back
The Virgin Spring (1960). Dymling
was anxious that the latter film would lose money and so insisted that Bergman also made
a comedy to offset the losses. The subject of the comedy was left to Bergman,
and he chose to make an adaptation of an old radio play,
Don
Juan Returns, by the Danish writer Oluf Bang.
Bergman's enthusiasm for
the production was lacking almost from the beginning. Physically and mentally drained
by the filming of
The Virgin Spring, he suffered
from health problems throughout the making of
The Devil's
Eye. He fell out with his long-time cinematographer, Gunnar Fischer, leading
to a rift which prevented the two men from working together until
The
Touch a decade later. As it turned out
The
Devil's Eye was not a great commercial success and it received some quite scathing
reviews on its first release.
The Devil's Eye
may not rank among Ingmar Bergman's greatest films, but its distinctive style and
unbridled sense of fun give it a charm which will appeal to any aficionado of the great
director. Bergman's exploration of the relationship between God, Satan and Mankind
makes for an interesting, albeit very tongue-in-cheek, piece of theo-philosophical conjecture.
Like
The Virgin Spring, the film touches on some
important theological themes, such as the relationship between sin and redemption.
And there are echoes of Bergman's earlier film,
Prison (1949), which also posited the view
that the Devil is far more "hand's on" than God when it came to mucking about with life
on Earth. One of the most fascinating aspects of
The
Devil's Eye is that Bergman manages to find so much humour in subjects which he
treats with deadly seriousness in many of his other films.
© James Travers 2007
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Next Ingmar Bergman film:
The Virgin Spring (1960)
Film Synopsis
Few things annoy the Devil more than a woman's chastity - it always brings on a painful
stye in his eye. Irked by this affliction, he summons Don Juan, who is still serving
his 300 year sentence in Hell, and sends him back to Earth on a vital mission - to divest
a pastor's 20-year old daughter, Britt-Marie, of her virginity. Accompanied by his
trusty servant Pablo, Don Juan has no difficulty inveigling his way into the pastor's
household. However, Britt-Marie proves to be strangely resilient to the great seducer's
charms. She remains faithful to the man she is soon to marry, whilst Don Juan discovers
true love for the first time...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.