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Sawdust and Tinsel (1953) *** 1/2 (out of 4)A circus troupe arrives in a small town where the owner (Ake Gronberg) plans on visiting his family who he hasn't seen in three years. This sets his mistress (Harriet Andersson) into a jealous fit and she runs to a local theatre group where an actor offers her a priceless necklace in exchange for sex. This here is without question the best of the early Bergman films I've seen and I think it's the first to show the masterful director at full force. Like a lot of Bergman pictures, this film really isn't about anything yet it's about everything to the people involved. The way Bergman could settle on small characters and shine a light on their personal issues has always been one of the director's strong points and he does the story justice here. The film is mainly about jealousy and what it can lead to and Bergman creates a very moody and at times depressing look at the subject. The film is very, very dark and comes off like a bad dream that mixes fantasy with reality. Another strong point is an opening sequence where we hear the story of a clown who loses his mind when he catches his wife swimming naked with some soldiers. This sequence is filmed completely different than the rest of the film and the lightness of this segment really brings you into a different type of movie. The performances are all incredibly strong with Gronberg stealing the show as the circus owner who slowly loses his mind over a matter of hours. The actor goes through a breakdown towards the end of the film and this comes off very realistic and is at times painful to watch. Andersson is her typical brilliant self and really sells the loneliness and confession of her young character. The scene with her and the actor is charged with some dark sexuality, which just shows what a master Bergman was. The cinematography Hilding Bladh and Sven Nykvist is remarkable as is the music score by Karl-Birger Blomdahl.
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