Höstsonaten (1978)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

October 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After having neglected her children for many years, world famous pianist Charlotte visits her daughter Eva in her home...

Plot Keywords:

Pianist | Widow | Marriage | Mother Daughter Estrangement | Train

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ingrid Bergman	...	Charlotte Andergast
Liv Ullmann	...	Eva
Lena Nyman	...	Helena
Halvar Björk	...	Viktor
Marianne Aminoff	...	Charlotte's private secretary
Arne Bang-Hansen	...	Uncle Otto
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Paul
Erland Josephson	...	Josef
Georg Løkkeberg	...	Leonardo
Mimi Pollak	...	Piano instructor
Linn Ullmann	...	Eva as a child

Also Known As:

Autumn Sonata (USA)
Herbstsonate (West Germany)
Sonate d'automne (France)

Runtime:

99 min | UK:92 min

Country:

France | West Germany | Sweden

Language:

Swedish | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:16 | Netherlands:16 (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Singapore:PG | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Jar, Norway

Company:

Filmédis

Trivia:

Ingmar Bergman later stated that when they first started shooting, Ingrid Bergman played her part horribly. But after they discussed it, she was "Brilliant, incredibly difficult, but brilliant".

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: In the dialogue scene where Charlotte is lying on the floor and Eva is sitting on the sofa behind her, the shadow of the boom mic is visible on the curtains when the camera pans to Eva for a few seconds.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Cuentos eróticos (1980)

Soundtrack:

Préludium Nr 2a, a-moll

"Human Face Has to Mean Something":

This is a beautiful and devastating film that I admire, love and am connected to. This was the first Liv Ullmann's film I've seen and the first Bergman's color film. It is considered to be Ingrid Bergman's film and she is phenomenal as a talented and world renowned pianist who had never been a good mother to her two daughters. It is much easier to make the whole world happy then your own child. One can be a brilliant artist and read the minds of the other great minds easily but the hearts and souls of one's own blood and flesh would be the unsolved mystery. I think the film was very personal for both Bergmans in their only work together. It is amazing how bravely they explore the themes and events that could've (and did) occurred in their own lives. For me, though, the film belongs to Liv Ullmann, the greatest actress I've seen, the best Ingmar Bergman's actress.

I was riveted to Liv's face; I'd never seen the face like hers. She played a plain daughter to the brilliant mother and she was supposed to look and feel awkward and gawky comparing to her mother but her face was like a magnet, her eyes - like two deep blue lakes. If ever the saying, the eyes are the soul's mirror, is true, it is about Liv's eyes. There are kindness, tenderness, strength, and something even more attractive than beauty itself in them - the goodness of her soul. Dostoyevsky said once that human face has to mean something - I always think of his words when I see performance of my favorite actress ever -Liv Ullmann.