Höstsonaten (1978)

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:

The only time Ingrid Bergman acted in a film directed by Ingmar Bergman.

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

One of the very, very best

This is one of the very best Ingmar Bergman films I have seen, and therefore one of the very best films.

Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman are simply amazing together as a mother and daughter combination from hell. Ingrid Bergman is terrific, despite a deliberately naff hairdo which makes her look like Queen Elizabeth II of the UK rather than the faded beauty she is. Liv Ullman also has visual nuances to enhance her character - the glasses, platted hair and jumpers enabling this beautiful woman to look frumpy.

The acting is simply amazing, even through the subtitles you can tell. Fortunately Scandinavian vocal nuance is similar enough to English to enable us non-Swedish speakers to appreciate the acting.

Of course, it has the Ingmar Bergman darkness to it. The sister with the horrible degenerative disease, the drowned toddler, the selfishness of the Ingrid Bergman character. If you get depressed along with the characters in films like this, you might be better off giving this one a miss.

But for those with a taste for this type of claustrophobic drama, this is one of the most powerful films you will ever see.