Criterion Collection: Autumn Sonata | Blu-ray Review

Two of the 20th Century’s best actresses team up – or square off, to be more precise – in Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata from 1978. This simple, austere production peels away every layer of a tortured mother/daughter relationship, revealing decades of toxic damage deep within. The film presents an uncomfortably frank appraisal of one family’s stark dysfunction, and the bonds of codependency that ensure a continuing spiral of guilt. And after the wreckage is thoroughly surveyed and assessed, most viewers will recognize scattered bits of their own lives amid the emotional debris.

Here we meet Eva (Liv Ullmann), a mousey preacher’s wife in the rural south of Norway. She spends her quiet days performing musical selections for her husband’s church and dusting the tidy parsonage they call home. One morning Eva composes a letter to her mother Charlotte, a globetrotting concert pianist, inviting her for a visit. Eva’s husband Viktor (Halvar Bjork) dutifully posts the letter with palpable trepidation, and it’s our first hint that all is not blissfully calm under the fading glow of Norway’s September sun.

The humble cottage is soon hit by a brute force of nature, in the form of Ingrid Bergman, who plays the conniving and egotistical Charlotte with a craft and control that approaches perfection. Her worldly success has made her larger than life; her existence seemingly on a different dimension than the reserved Lutherans who surround her. While the visit begins with much hope and optimism, as mother and daughter catch up on missed hugs and chit-chat, old resentments and ancient slights eventually resurface. Ullmann wins some early points by forcing Bergman to confront her original sin, in the form of an abandoned daughter stricken with palsy (Lena Nyman), who serves as a physical manifestation of Charlotte’s self centered neglect.

The film continues with a series of small confrontations and bits of backstory dispensed at a perfectly measured pace. A seemingly harmless scene where Bergman and Ullmann trade Chopin riffs at the piano becomes a haunting visual metaphor. As Bergman noodles a polished and powerful interpretation, Ullmann stares agape, her face taking on the bloated and puffy contours of a defenseless infant. It’s the iconic imagery of Persona revisited, not as an expression of symbiosis, but of crushing subjugation. Charlotte’s immersion in the dour lifestyle of middle-class Norwegians is like a weight on her soul, but when her agent calls with a lucrative booking Ingrid beams with selfish delight; thrilled she has a reason to escape these country dullards. The emotional sparring builds to a climactic all night bull session where Charlotte and Eva – her inhibitions wiped away by red wine – finally have it out.

Disc Review

The 1.66:1 transfer is a significant upgrade over the DVD edition, with good sharpness and color saturation. There is a slight increase in grain but not to a distracting degree. The genius of Anna Asp’s production design becomes even more apparent, with her earthy palette apparently color-cued from Liv Ullman’s fiery hair. The predominance of organic, autumnal tones actually help to open up the production and overcome its inherent staginess. Cinematographer Nykvist – the master of magic hour – brings a similar sensibility to his interior schemes, selling us on the idea of natural northern light while providing perfectly balanced fill.

The audio track is crisp and quiet in all the right places, with the practical piano sequences recorded with richness and depth. The disc gets the highest marks not only for technical quality but its wealth of relevant and enlightening bonus features as well.

Introduction by director Ingmar Bergman from 2003
In this 8 minute sequence, filmed in the director’s private screening room, Bergman describes how he and Ingrid (no relation) met and the Autumn Sonata project evolved. Interestingly, his account differs significantly from Ingrid’s recollection, which we will hear in following supplements. The director is quite candid in assessing Ingrid’s early approach to the character of Charlotte, which he considered laced with overacting and melodrama.

Audio commentary featuring Bergman expert Peter Cowie
Cowie’s reputation as the world’s foremost Bergman authority is throughly cemented here, delivering a head-spinning wealth of detail on the production of Autumn Sonata and the lives of virtually everyone associated with it. Cowie places the film in the context of Ingmar Bergman’s filmography, while tracing the many parallels between the story and the real lives of the participants. He illustrates a number of examples of changes made to the film during the editing process that enabled Ingmar to overide what the director considered to be excesses in Ingrid’s performance. Bergman’s use of the color red is discussed at length, along with the piano sequence as a manifestation of Charlotte and Eva’s tortured relationship. Amid his learned analysis, Cowie also makes room for a few funny stories, in particular a description of going to see The Seventh Seal in a London theater in the 1950s accompanied by his father and grandmother. About halfway through the film, his grandmother jumped to her feet and loudly exclaimed, “There’s too much talk of death in this picture. I’m going home to make the supper!” If you’ve never experienced a Cowie commentary before, you’re in for a real treat. Highly recommended.

The Making of “Autumn Sonata,” a three-and-a-half-hour program examining every aspect of the production
The brightest diadem of the supplements, this massive assemblage gives viewers a rare immersion into the making of Autumn Sonata. Shot in real time by production photographer Arne Carlsson, this amazing piece captures production meetings, rehearsals and the day-to-day grind of shooting with the hypnotic realism of a Frederick Wiseman documentary. From heated debates over the wording of dialogue to determining the number of parking spaces needed for cast and crew, the supplement strips away every hint of glamor and reveals the slow, often mind-numbingly dull process of filmmaking. Particularly interesting is the political dynamic on the set, with crew members catering to Ingrid Bergman’s every whim, while she and the director trade subtle – and not so subtle – verbal barbs. For her part, Ullmann seems bemused by the spectacle, perhaps relieved to have Ingmar yelling at someone else for a change. In all, the piece is required viewing for scholars and industry professional alike and is well worth the price of the disc.

New interview with actor Liv Ullmann
Here Ullmann describes her long and complex relationship with Ingmar Bergman and the lengthy process that led to Autumn Sonata. Both she and Ingrid Bergman requested the script be rewritten because it was too personal, but the director steadfastly refused. Ullmann humorously cites a number of instances where Ingrid rebelled against Ingmar’s authority; an act inconceivable to the Swedish crew. Ullmann makes it clear she still has issues with the way her character was depicted in the film and, 35 years later, has yet to make peace about it. 17 minutes.

A 1981 conversation between actor Ingrid Bergman and critic John Russell Taylor at the National Film Theatre in London
Taped with a live audience, this presentation was one of Ingrid Bergman’s final public appearances before her death in 1982 at the age of 67. Taylor leads Bergman through an overview of her career, eliciting her impressions of various Hollywood notables. There is a only brief segment concerning the making of Autumn Sonata, but Ingrid’s comments are gracious if a bit removed from reality. Time is reserved for a Q & A with the audience, who are clearly enthralled to be in the presence of a screen legend. 45 min

PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme
Nehme’s essay is written largely from a feminist point of view and makes a number of astute, if somewhat obvious, observations. The booklet also features credits and notes on the transfer.

Final Thoughts

There are elements of Autumn Sonata that are made even more powerful by incidents of art imitating life. The generational differences between the leading actresses provide a fascinating real life subtext. Despite her European roots, Ingrid Bergman was a product of the glamor days of Hollywood; her angular, ethereal beauty made for spot lights and 1940s designer fashions. Ullmann’s career was spawned by films of intellect and naturalism, her creamy complexion and unruly orange curls harbingers of high hippie style. These opposing points of reference enrich their performances, and serve to further widen the gulf between their respective characters. And Ingrid’s work is made even more poignant by the knowledge that just prior to filming Autumn Sonata the breast cancer was discovered that would kill her four years later. When her character is forced to assess her life in the film’s final reels, Ingrid Bergman’s litany of hollow triumphs and deep regrets has an authentic ring; her misty tears mingling with our own.