Autumn Sonata is more transparent and direct than his other films. It deals with the tension between a neglected daughter and self-centred mother with his poetic style, but also with a personal familiarity that makes the whole film hit a slightly different nerve. I know people who've had to cope with similar circumstances, and their experiences were represented boldly, without the watering down or trivialisation that you'd expect from something from the past 15 years.
There is one quite brief scene in this film that makes the whole thing worth watching multiple times. I count it as some of Ingmar Bergman's best writing.
Eva plays for her professional pianist mother Charlotte one of Chopin's preludes she had been practicing for some time. Whilst playing her mistakes and stiffness sets a tense tone, as Charlotte is a critical and inconsiderate nightmare of a mother, who at any minute would burst out with a cutting criticism. She instead begins a monologue about Chopin's music, blending together her experiences of playing his piano music, as well as the emotions he evokes. Chopin's emotional strength is not sentimental, she says. It's far more credibly affecting than music designed to be manipulative.
This begins the downward spiral of the two characters' immediate relationship. It speaks to each of the characters, their style of playing representative of their emotional makeup. Charlotte's aversion or ignorance towards affection is displayed clearly.
It also plays on another level, which I found the most resounding. Bergman's films always deal with heavy emotions, but they are never sentimental. They never dress emotions up to be more affecting for the audience than they are for the characters. This honesty in the way he makes films is explored in Charlotte's speech, I see him speaking to us, saying that he tries hard not to be fake. Not to manipulate us in cheap ways that don't exist in the real world.
Bergman is a great director. Autumn Sonata reminded me that at the heart of his talent is his powerful writing. I don't think we'll see a finer writer and director for actresses for a long time to come.
There is one quite brief scene in this film that makes the whole thing worth watching multiple times. I count it as some of Ingmar Bergman's best writing.
Eva plays for her professional pianist mother Charlotte one of Chopin's preludes she had been practicing for some time. Whilst playing her mistakes and stiffness sets a tense tone, as Charlotte is a critical and inconsiderate nightmare of a mother, who at any minute would burst out with a cutting criticism. She instead begins a monologue about Chopin's music, blending together her experiences of playing his piano music, as well as the emotions he evokes. Chopin's emotional strength is not sentimental, she says. It's far more credibly affecting than music designed to be manipulative.
This begins the downward spiral of the two characters' immediate relationship. It speaks to each of the characters, their style of playing representative of their emotional makeup. Charlotte's aversion or ignorance towards affection is displayed clearly.
It also plays on another level, which I found the most resounding. Bergman's films always deal with heavy emotions, but they are never sentimental. They never dress emotions up to be more affecting for the audience than they are for the characters. This honesty in the way he makes films is explored in Charlotte's speech, I see him speaking to us, saying that he tries hard not to be fake. Not to manipulate us in cheap ways that don't exist in the real world.
Bergman is a great director. Autumn Sonata reminded me that at the heart of his talent is his powerful writing. I don't think we'll see a finer writer and director for actresses for a long time to come.