Viskningar och rop (1972)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1973 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A haunting and shattering film experience.

Plot:

When a woman dying of cancer in turn-of-the century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.

Plot Keywords:

Attempted Suicide | Nonlinear Timeline | Pince Nez | Female Nudity | Cancer

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Harriet Andersson	...	Agnes
Kari Sylwan	...	Anna
Ingrid Thulin	...	Karin
Liv Ullmann	...	Maria (and her mother)
Anders Ek	...	Isak, the priest
Inga Gill	...	Story teller
Erland Josephson	...	David, the doctor
Henning Moritzen	...	Joakim, Maria's husband
Georg Årlin	...	Fredrik, Karin's husband
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ingrid Bergman	...	Spectator (as Ingrid von Rosen)
Lena Bergman	...	Maria as a child
Lars-Owe Carlberg	...	Spectator
Malin Gjörup	...	Anna's daughter
Greta Johansson	...	Undertaker
Karin Johansson	...	Undertaker
Ann-Christin Lobråten	...	Spectator
Börje Lundh	...	Spectator
Rossana Mariano	...	Agnes as a child
Monika Priede	...	Karin as a child
Linn Ullmann	...	Maria's daughter

Also Known As:

Cries and Whispers (USA)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 (re-rating) (1998) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Taxinge-Näsby estate, Mariefred, Södermanlands län, Sweden

Company:

Cinematograph AB

Trivia:

Ingmar Bergman explained the use of the color red his film: "'Cries and Whispers' is an exploration of the soul, and ever since childhood, I have imagined the soul to be a damp membrane in varying shades of red."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: You can briefly see Agnes take a breath after she has died, just before the scene changes.

Quotes:

Anna: [reading Agnes' journal entry] "Wednesday the third of September... The tang of autumn fills the clear still air but it's mild and fine. My sisters, Karin and Maria have come to see me. It's wonderful to be together again like in the old days, and I am feeling much better. We were even able to go for a little walk together...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blodigt jävla helvete (2008)

Soundtrack:

Mazurka in A minor, Op.17/4

The Sounds Of Cries And Whispers Or A Study In Red

The idea of this film that is considered by many as Bergman's crown achievement came to him in his house at Faro where he lived by himself for sometime in a melancholy state of mind after a rather painful breakup. One image kept coming to him and it was a very vivid and persistent image of a red room (red walls, red furniture) and four women sitting at the window in the room and dressed by the fashion of the beginning of the 20th century. He could not shake the image out of his mind and he knew that the only way to deal with it would be to start writing about the women – who were they, what was their relationship, their lives, their fates?.. He also knew that should the movie be made of his writing, the dominating color of it would be red. Bergman talked with affection and gratitude about his friend and long time collaborator Swen Nykwist who spent many days creating the passionate haunting red world of "Cries and Whispers. The title came to Bergman from one of the reviews on a Mozart's sonata (he does not remember which one). The sonata was described as sounds of cries and whispers…

"Cries and Whispers" is about pain, death, love, lust, hate, and self-loathing. There are more than one scene in the film that I found unbearable, horrifying and depressing. In the same time, it is about beauty and power of life, every minute of it - how little we appreciated it until it is too late. Typical Bergman's subjects, Bergman's actresses giving amazing performances, strikingly beautiful – it even hurts your eyes cinematography by Sven Nykvist - typical Bergman's masterpiece - what less do we expect from him? I admire the brilliance of it: acting, cinematography, Bergman's simple but devastating approach to Death as an inevitable part of life. The ending is heartbreaking - with Harriet's face and her words from beyond the grave about appreciating every minute of life...

Powerful and devastating film.