Max von Sydow is amazing as always. And Liv Ullman turns in a brilliant performance. But Ingmar Bergman is the real star of this film. His direction is top notch.
The premise, a couple (wife pregnant) come to an island. He to paint. He has a past that haunts him. Troubled childhood, affair with a married woman, and an accidental, self-defense killing of a young boy.
But the real issue at hand is his wife Alma's jealousy. As she becomes aware of his past affair, she begins to imagine him pulling farther and farther away. Bergman does a masterful job of making us believe that Johan is having illusions, but really the illusions are all Alma's.
He tries to shoot her, I believe in self-defense. My belief for what became of Johan is that Alma killed him and ate him. She invented the "demons" and Johan's "insanity" as a way of playing this off.
I believe this is one of the conclusion's Bergman was going for. The original script title was "The Cannibals". We are made to believe the "demons" ate Johan. But the demons never really existed, only Johan and Alma did. The only logical conclusion is that Alma's jealousy over Veronica drove her to the actions she took.
Very well done film. And even if my theory is wrong, it is a reasonable conclusion for a viewer to come to. Consider that Alma even talks to us as if we are there, yet there is really no one there for her to talk to.
I highly recommend this film.
The premise, a couple (wife pregnant) come to an island. He to paint. He has a past that haunts him. Troubled childhood, affair with a married woman, and an accidental, self-defense killing of a young boy.
But the real issue at hand is his wife Alma's jealousy. As she becomes aware of his past affair, she begins to imagine him pulling farther and farther away. Bergman does a masterful job of making us believe that Johan is having illusions, but really the illusions are all Alma's.
He tries to shoot her, I believe in self-defense. My belief for what became of Johan is that Alma killed him and ate him. She invented the "demons" and Johan's "insanity" as a way of playing this off.
I believe this is one of the conclusion's Bergman was going for. The original script title was "The Cannibals". We are made to believe the "demons" ate Johan. But the demons never really existed, only Johan and Alma did. The only logical conclusion is that Alma's jealousy over Veronica drove her to the actions she took.
Very well done film. And even if my theory is wrong, it is a reasonable conclusion for a viewer to come to. Consider that Alma even talks to us as if we are there, yet there is really no one there for her to talk to.
I highly recommend this film.