Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Max Von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindbolm, Birgitta Pettersson, Axel Duberg
From: Svensk Filmindustri
Last evening I noticed it would be on Turner Classic Movies as part of their night where they tipped their cap to Max von Sydow. As I should see more movies involving him and/or Bergman, it seemed like a prudent decision... although the fact that this was unofficially remade as The Last House on the Left also intrigued me.
No surprise that this tale (based on an old Swedish folk tale that was turned into a novel) had its basic premise used for a trashy exploitation movie-sexual assaults done by scumbags result in death... they happen to soon then meet the parents of the deceased... they realize what happened and brutal revenge then occurs. While Last House was a rather sloppy and amateur effort from a director who thankfully improved by leaps and bounds, Virgin Spring is a 180 in terms of how serious and mature the story was presented.
Serious themes are addressed skillfully, and not just revenge. There's religion on several fronts, ancient traditions, sexuality, anguish, and thankfully this isn't incredibly obtuse or pretentious. It was a heavy story yet not totally inaccessible for most. Of course the production was of high quality and von Sydow delivered the most memorable performance, although I can't complain about the rest of the cast... none of which I was too familiar with. There is plenty of subtlety and metaphors; that's why I say this is the polar opposite of what Wes Craven made; you can like both if you wish but the movie is much more complex than you may even expect. Those that like Bergman but have only seen a fraction of his work, this should be in your queue.
No comments:
Post a Comment