I just can’t seem to get my head around Bergman. I often find his films hard to engage with, as they involve bleak studies into human conscience and their inner turmoils, offering no light reprieve. Not that all films should be simple walks in the park, but I often feel tired and fatigued after his work. I found no-one to identify with in Cries and Whispers, no redeeming characters to support and this was its biggest drawback as it stopped me being able to emotionally involve myself with anyone’s disquiet. Whilst the plot and the characters gave me little, I can appreciate the art of the filmmaker here – his control of the lens is masterful (Nykvist deservedly winning a Oscar for cinematography), he adeptly uses both space and setting to say much more than dialogue can (no words are said in the first 9 minutes, so you know you are going to be ‘spoken to’ in other ways) and his use of colour intriguing and meaningful. This is not easy watching (Karin’s genital mutilation scene was Von Trier-esque!) but it is worth seeing, as long as you are in the mood to think.
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