A PASSION

Sweden, 1969, 100 Minutes, Colour.
Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Max von Sydow, Erland Josephson, Erik Hell.
Directed by Ingmar Bergman.

A Passion: a Bergman island in colour and with cars and TV sets, at first homely territory and a seemingly accessible film. But we soon move to Bergman's land scapes of the human spirit, the purgatorial land where souls are searched and lives relived in constant seeking of the meaning of success and failure, appearances and reality, truth and lies. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann are excellent in roles that require subtlety as they move from external actions to the inner significance of their roles they take. Bergman also has the actors themselves explicitly describing how they see their characters. A typically fine Bergman film. It fits into a trilogy : Shame and Hour of the Wolf, also with Liv Ullmann and Von Sydow.

1. The meaning and focus of the title: suffering, act of suffering, experience and suffering felt? The reference to Christ and the Christian mystery, agony? The focus on the passion of Anna?

2. The religious background of the film: Nordic religions, deaths of animals and sacrifice, the sun and portents in the sky? The Christian overtones of Christ, belief in God, the Book of Revelation and portents in the sky?

3. Ingmar Bergman and his thematic preoccupations: life, art, science, psychology, suffering, God, relationships, poor? How well were these visually presented and explored? The preoccupation of the artist and his insight into relationships: Elis as the architect and his comments on photography and the limits of understanding by photography?

4. The particular contribution of cinematic techniques: colour, light and darkness and shadow? The use of profiles? Groups? Editing? The brightness of fire, the dark of night? Sinister atmosphere? Use of sounds, eg. the supper conversation?

5. The contribution of the structure: the presentation of the four main actors and punctuating the narrative with their being interviewed about their interpretation of the roles? The placing of these four interviews and the order in which they occur? How much information did this give the audience that was not supplied in the narrative? The narrative by the director himself to explain what had happened? These techniques as involving the audience or distancing them?

6. The nature of the screenplay and the gaps in information and narrative? Consistencies and inconsistencies? The audience puzzling over what they have not seen or heard and which is suddenly given as information taken for granted? A sense of wonder? The strengths and weaknesses of the characterizations with this lack of information? what repercussions for motivations? For the passing of time and the nature of time?

7. The film beginning and ending with Andreas? Who was he really? The identification at the end? Depending on his identity, who were the rest of the people? Their relationship with him? The suggestion that the experience is one of purgatory? Knowing and not knowing the present and the past? The reliving of the past? Of sins and grace? The necessity of suffering and purging oneself of guilt? The importance of sickly interpretations of life? Human beings being trapped in the same cycles? How relevant are these observations to the major themes and interpretations of character?

8. The character of Andreas? First impressions with his building the house, the sun, dropping the bucket? His kindliness towards Johannes? Allowing Anna to telephone and then listening in? Returning her purse but reading the letter and knowing about her? The encounter with Eva asleep in the car? The happiness of the visit to Elis and Eva? Conversation at the table and the effect of Elis' comments on Milan? Eva and her belief in God? Anna and her statements about the truth? The discussions with Elis about the photography and the nature of photography, posing for the series? The effect of the affair with Eva? Denying it to Anna later on? Living with Anna, their love, work, the desperate nature of their fights leading to hatred and violence and attempted killing? And yet the contrast with Andrea's care for Johannes, concern about the animals, especially the dog, the dead sheep? The horse? Tenderness in reading Johanna’s letter and visiting his house? The clash with Anna in the car and his pacing up and down at the end and burning up? Strengths and weaknesses, mixture of good and bad? Max von Sydow interpreting his house as a hideaway and a self-imprisonment?

9. The focus on Anna and her passion and suffering? AS a cripple, the telephone call and her anxiety and weeping, her steeling herself to meet Andreas? Her explanation of her background and marriage, the child, the accident? Eva's explanation of it? Her strong declarations at dinner, her reactions to others? Her emphasis on the truth and Liv Ullmann's interpretation of her emphasis on the truth? Her living with Andreas as not explained? Their work together, scenes of tenderness? Her explanation of her marriage? The importance of the long focus on her monologues and their content? Her wanting to help Andreas and yet his exposing her hypocrisy? Her moral strengths and the demands that she made on others and her expectations? Her praying? Her driving to Andreas and asking his forgiveness? The emphasis on goodness in her character?

10. Eva as a straightforward character, asleep in the car, losing her husband's love, conversation at dinner, especially about childhood and belief in God? The reason for her spending the night with Andreas and the significance of their talk? The quality of her love? Bebe Anderson's interpretation of her future, the possibility of suicide, working for the disabled, especially the deaf and the isolated?

11. Elis as a character in himself, his arrogance and explanations about Milan and the mausoleum that he was build? His mask covering his real self? Cynical sounding comments? His showing Andreas around, the comment on Annals nightmares? Explaining his photos? Audience response to such a collection of photos of people experiencing all kinds of emotion? Having photos of Anna, Andreas as her husband, Johannes? His comments on photography and the possibility of understanding people through photographing them? His reaction to Eva and her affair? Andreas having an affair with his wife? A devilish aspect in his character and facial expression? The man who taunts? Erland Josephson's interpretation of him?

12. The significance of Johannes, his initial isolation, a good man, his cough? Becoming a victim, caring for Andreas in his drunkenness? His premonition of death? The pathos of his letter and Andrea's visit to his home? The ugliness of his being lynched?

13. The atmosphere of war? Andreas and Anna watching it on the television? The violence of the animals and the mad slaughter? The animals killed? A lynching mood that drove Johannes to kill himself? The war and the violence between Andreas and Anna?

14. Themes of love, lust? Good and evil? Each individual being incomplete?

15. What was the vision of the world and catastrophe behind this film? Human needs and their fulfilment? The vision of Ingmar Bergman?