It really feels very Hollywood ....
But the director himself is a big shadow, a psychoanalytic plot. (I think I've heard that Bergman himself had quite a peculiar family himself). The father plays the role of pure evil here, while the mother is ambivalent, on the one hand the notion of mother is subverted many times by her evil father (looking for a mistress), while always there is a primitive mother here. This subversion might not lead to an Oedipus for a child who grows up under the arms of his mother, but this turns into another transference-like Oedipus.
Both the hero's flight, and his return can be seen as a desire not to be a father per se, and a revenge against his father.
There are glimpses of Bergman's personal style emerging at this moment, but they have not yet taken shape.
But the director himself is a big shadow, a psychoanalytic plot. (I think I've heard that Bergman himself had quite a peculiar family himself). The father plays the role of pure evil here, while the mother is ambivalent, on the one hand the notion of mother is subverted many times by her evil father (looking for a mistress), while always there is a primitive mother here. This subversion might not lead to an Oedipus for a child who grows up under the arms of his mother, but this turns into another transference-like Oedipus.
Both the hero's flight, and his return can be seen as a desire not to be a father per se, and a revenge against his father.
There are glimpses of Bergman's personal style emerging at this moment, but they have not yet taken shape.