Skammen, another Ingmar Bergman film that isn’t among his most famous, but I’ve heard enough praise to want to see it. Apparently, the film I watched, the DVD version, is in wrong aspect ratio. But then again, I didn’t notice, and the amount of DVD releases for this film aren’t exactly plentiful, and regardless, it cost me 4£. Besides, I didn’t quite notice this while watching it, so how bad could the transfer have been. Still, I will use this opportunity to complain about this issue. Why can’t these people release the films in their original aspect ratio, what is so hard about that?
Anyway, in Sweden, for some reason, war is raging and a married couple, played by Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, two people quite regularly cast in Bergman’s films. Everything starts out nice and idyllic; although the married couple has personal problems, like any other. But oh damn! War hits and the people suffer psychologically and are torn apart by the atrocities of war. The film is quite bleak, but not bleaker than many other Bergman films. The film does contain some fantastic moments, and some of Bergman’s camera setups are absolutely fantastic. But the film does suffer a bit. Fine, it’s about war, but I’m not sure if this is the area that Bergman tackles the best. In fact, I was bored during the “war” scenes. The style adopted for these doesn’t suit the rest of the film, and as a consequence, it seems to vary a bit between the phenomenal and the dull. The films highpoints, regardless, are still great, but they polarize the film too much. The cinematography is though some of the best I’ve seen by Bergman, but best at its most simple moments. The close ups, and wide shots, equally, are great, and throughout we are given moments of extreme intensity and emotional impact. I think the film might have been better if it limited itself, at times it seem too big, too big for itself. Bergman’s best films have always been small quiet dramas, and while Skammen has these moments, it is obscured too much with the overload and pompous war scenes.
Another area that isn’t as strong here as his other films is the psychological development of the characters. Sure, it is better than most other films, however, we are talking about Ingmar Bergman here, one of the greatest directors of psychological cinema, so our standards should be quite high. It is adequate. Sure, we get it; they suffer mentally because of the war. It can all become a bit overbearing. However, some of the early marriage stuff is great, and the opening has the best moments, although the end is fantastic and very strong. The film starts off fantastically, takes a dip through the middle, and grabs itself up by the end. For all its faults, the film is still very powerful and the moments as such aren’t spoiled by the less interesting moments. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann also do great jobs at their respective parts, although it is always quite amusing to listen to Liv Ullmann attempt at speaking Swedish. One of the points of the film is how innocent people suffer in the brink of war, and to this the film does quite well. However, the overall theme of war and the psychological development of the characters is not explored well or thoroughly enough. Ultimately the film suffers from being made by Bergman. I have grown accustomed to expect a lot from Bergman films, and this one falls a bit short of the mark. I guess I have come to the level where I have, like with Fellini, Kurosawa and Hitchcock, seen the most of his greatest films, and all that is left are the curiosities in between. It is a bit sad, but also slightly exiting, as I know there are probably some hidden masterworks somewhere that I still haven’t seen by Bergman, but still, my extensive exploring of his work is probably over. For now anyway.
The film is very good. However, it is average Bergman. That doesn’t say a whole lot, and the film is filled with some of his best moments of extreme emotional impact. The cinematography is at times wonderful, stark and beautiful. The ending is also fantastic and very Bergmanesuqe. Recommended for experienced Bergman viewers, but for people just starting out, start somewhere else.
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