DVD REVIEW: Autumn Sonata (1978)

ACTING TOUR DE FORCE

Ingmar Bergman and Ingrid Bergman have often been described as Swedish national treasures. You need to only watch Autumn Sonata to understand why they deserve such admiration. Both Bergmans, giants in their respective crafts -- directing and acting -- came together for the first and only time (and towards the end of their careers) with this intense film about one of Ingmar's favourite themes -- the deconstruction of family ties, in a manner so derisive and candid, it's almost too painful to watch. He methodically peels layers of skin off a relationship and exposes it for the destructive force it actually is, contrary to the perception of families that bond and live in perfect harmony. This was a dominant preoccupation with most of his later cinematic work, characterized by brutal exchanges of hurt and accusation among intimate relations in claustrophobic indoor spaces and shot in extreme close-ups, leaving the characters no room to hide.