Aus dem Leben der Marionetten (1980) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

7 November 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Made during Bergman's tax-related exile in Germany, the film continues the story of Katarina and Peter EGermann...

Plot Keywords:

Prostitution | Sex | Sex Killer | Female Nudity | Middle Class

Cast

Robert Atzorn	...	Peter Egermann
Heinz Bennent	...	Arthur Brenner
Martin Benrath	...	Professor Mogens Jensen
Toni Berger	...	The Guard
Christine Buchegger	...	Katarina Egerman
Gaby Dohm	...	Frau Anders - Secretary
Erwin Faber
Lola Müthel	...	Cordelia Egermann
Ruth Olafs	...	Nurse
Karl-Heinz Pelser	...	The Interrogator
Rita Russek	...	Katharina Kraft
Walter Schmidinger	...	Tim Mandelbaum
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heino Hallhuber	...	The Choreographer

Also Known As:

From the Life of the Marionettes
Ur marionetternas liv (Sweden)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

West Germany | Sweden

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Argentina:16 | UK:18 (video rating) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)

Movie Connections:

Spin off from Scener ur ett äktenskap (1973)

Underrated Bergman

Bergman made this film in Germany, while in exile from Sweden for tax-related reasons. It's a dark and disturbing psychological portrait of a man, Peter, who murders a prostitute in the opening scene. The film moves back and forth in time, using title cards to establish the setting in time, trying to explain Peter's troubles. It's reminiscent of Scenes from a Marriage, as Peter has problems relating to his wife, Katarina. A few weeks before the murder, he started having fantasies and dreams about murdering her. The prologue, depicting the murder (or, more precisely, the moments before the murder) and the epilogue (Peter in prison) are filmed in color, but everything else is in black and white. The composition is generally not showy, but there is an amazingly filmed dream sequence, the film's centerpiece. The script is generally brilliant, very observant. The only thing I felt was a little underdeveloped was the homosexual character, Tim, and Peter's supposed latent homosexuality, which the psychoanalyst character describes near the end. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that material. 9/10.