''Fanny and Alexander'' ( sv, Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982
period drama film written and directed by
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in
Uppsala, Sweden during the first decade of the twentieth century. Following the death of the children's father (
Allan Edwall
Johan Allan Edwall (25 August 1924 – 7 February 1997) was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films, such as ''Fanny and Alexander'' (198 ...
), their mother (
Ewa Fröling) remarries a prominent bishop (
Jan Malmsjö) who becomes abusive towards Alexander for his vivid imagination.
Bergman intended ''Fanny and Alexander'' to be his final picture before retiring, and his script is semi-autobiographical. The characters Alexander, Fanny and stepfather Edvard are based on himself, his sister
Margareta and his father
Erik Bergman, respectively. Many of the scenes were filmed on location in Uppsala. The documentary film ''
The Making of Fanny and Alexander'' was made simultaneously with the feature and chronicles its production.
The production was originally conceived as a television
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes; a 188-minute cut version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the one to be released first. The television version has since been released as a complete film, and both versions have been shown in theaters throughout the world. The 312-minute cut is one of the
longest cinematic films in history.
The theatrical version was released to positive reviews. It won four
Academy Awards, including for
Best Foreign Language Film; three
Guldbagge Awards
The Guldbagge Awards ( sv, Guldbaggen, en, Gold scarab) is an official and annual Swedish film awards ceremony honoring achievements in the Swedish film industry. Winners are awarded a statuette depicting a rose chafer, better known by the name ...
, including
Best Film; and other honours. ''Fanny and Alexander'' was followed by stage adaptations and further semi-autobiographical screenplays by Bergman, released as films in 1992: ''
The Best Intentions'', directed by
Bille August, and ''
Sunday's Children
''Sunday's Children'' ( sv, Söndagsbarn) is a 1992 Swedish drama film directed by Daniel Bergman and written by Ingmar Bergman. At the 28th Guldbagge Awards the film won the award for Best Cinematography (Tony Forsberg) and Thommy Berggren wa ...
'', directed by
Daniel Bergman.
Plot
In 1907, young Alexander, his sister Fanny, and their well-to-do family, the Ekdahls, live in a Swedish town, running a moderately profitable theatre. At Christmastime, the Ekdahls hold a
Nativity play and later a large Christmas party. The siblings' parents, Emilie and Oscar, are happily married until Oscar suddenly dies from a stroke. Shortly thereafter, Emilie marries Edvard Vergérus, the local bishop and a widower, and moves into his home where he lives with his mother, sister, aunt, and maids.
Emilie initially expects that she will be able to carry over the free, joyful qualities of her previous home into the marriage, but realises that Edvard's harsh authoritarian policies are unshakable. The relationship between the bishop and Alexander is especially cold, as Alexander invents stories, for which Edvard punishes him severely. As a result, Emilie asks for a divorce, which Edvard will not consent to; though she may leave the marriage, this would be legally considered desertion, placing the children in his custody. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ekdahl family has begun to worry about their condition, and Emilie secretly visits her former mother-in-law, Helena, revealing she is pregnant.
During Emilie's absence, Edvard confines the children to their bedroom, ostensibly for their safety. There, Alexander shares a story, claiming he was visited by the ghosts of the Vergérus family, who revealed the bishop was responsible for their deaths. The maid Justina reports the story to Edvard, who responds with
corporal punishment. After Emilie returns, the Ekdahl family friend Isak Jacobi helps smuggle the children from the house. They live temporarily with Isak and his nephews in their store.
Emilie's former brothers-in-law confront Edvard to negotiate a divorce, using the children, the bishop's debts, and the threat of a public scandal for leverage, but Edvard is unmoved.
Emilie, now in the later stages of her pregnancy, refuses to restore the children to Edvard's home. Emilie allows Edvard to drink a large dosage of her
bromide sedative. She explains to him, as the medication takes effect, that she intends to flee the home as he sleeps. He threatens to follow her family and ruin their lives, but falls unconscious. After she escapes, Edvard's dying Aunt Elsa accidentally overturns a gas lamp, setting her bedclothes, nightgown, and hair on fire. Engulfed in flames, she runs through the house, seeking Edvard's help, but he too, is set aflame. Although partially incapacitated by the sedative, he is able to disentangle himself from Aunt Elsa, but is badly burned and dies shortly thereafter.
Alexander had fantasised about his stepfather's death while living with Isak and his nephews Aron and Ismael Retzinsky. The mysterious Ismael explains that fantasy can become true as he dreams it.
The Ekdahl family reunites for the christening celebration of Emilie's and the late bishop's daughter as well as the extra-marital daughter of Alexander's uncle, Gustav Adolf, and the family maid, Maj. Alexander encounters the ghost of the bishop who knocks him to the floor, and tells him that he will never be free. Emilie, having inherited the theatre, hands Helena a copy of
August Strindberg's play ''
A Dream Play'' to read and tells her that they should perform it together onstage. Initially scoffing at the idea and declaring Strindberg a "misogynist," Helena takes to the idea and begins reading it to a sleeping Alexander.
Cast
The cast consists of:
The Ekdahl house
The Bishop's house
Jacobi's house
The Theatre
Production
Development
Director
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
conceived of ''Fanny and Alexander'' while working on his 1980 film ''
From the Life of the Marionettes'', and wrote the screenplay at
Fårö in summer 1979. Bergman intended ''Fanny and Alexander'' to be his last feature film, although he wrote several screenplays afterwards and directed for television. He told the press he decided to retire, because, "I don't have the strength any more, neither psychologically nor physically".
The screenplay was semi-autobiographical, attempting to portray Bergman's fondest memories in what he called a "happy and privileged" childhood; Alexander himself was meant as a representation of the young Ingmar. His recollections of his grandmother's home were a particular inspiration.
He commented on his boyhood:
Bergman also recalled receiving his own
magic lantern
The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a sin ...
at age 10, from his aunt; in his autobiography, he described it as personally significant, and previously depicted a magic lantern in his 1972 ''
Cries and Whispers''.
However, the Ekdahls do not entirely match the Bergmans. Ingmar's relationship with his sister
Margareta during their shared childhood is depicted through the character Fanny, who is included in the title though she is not as large a character as Alexander. Bergman had previously modeled characters after his mother, Karin Åkerblom, as simultaneously "virgin and seductress": Emilie also fits that self-contradictory design.
Margareta and Ingmar's father was the strict
Erik Bergman, a
Lutheran pastor.
Edvard is based on Erik, and like Edvard, Erik was raised in a family almost completely made up of women. Erik and Ingmar also often conflicted over "truth" and honesty, much as Edvard and Alexander do. The story Alexander tells of being sold to a circus resembles one Ingmar had told as a boy, and he was accosted by Erik much as Edvard lectures Alexander. However, Bergman also stated that "It has been suggested ... that 12-year-old Alexander is my alter-ego. But this is not quite true. ''Fanny and Alexander'' is a story, the chronicle of a middle-class, perhaps upper-middle-class family sticking closely together ... There's a lot of me in the Bishop, rather than in Alexander. He is haunted by his own devils".
Bergman proposed the project to producer
Jörn Donner, who said he could provide the budget if all production and costume design crew would be Swedish. Bergman initially doubted that Sweden alone had the manpower, but eventually caved, Donner said. The estimated budget of 40 million
SEK would make it the most costly Swedish film ever. To raise the $6 million, Donner and the
Swedish Film Institute
The Swedish Film Institute ( sv, Svenska Filminstitutet) was founded in 1963 to support and develop the Swedish film industry. The institute is housed in the ''Filmhuset'' building located in Gärdet, Östermalm in Stockholm. The building, comp ...
partnered with the French company
Gaumont and West German TV. Bergman completed the screenplay by October 1980 and assembled a budget of $7 million, according to ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
''.
Casting
The project was announced in October 1980 with
Liv Ullmann
Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...
,
Max von Sydow and
Erland Josephson in lead roles; von Sydow was cast as Edvard, the bishop who Ingmar told the press resembled Erik Bergman.
However, negotiations to secure von Sydow became troubled as he continued to act more in productions beyond Sweden, and as his agent demanded a larger salary.
Edvard was recast with
Jan Malmsjö, whom Bergman had worked with before in ''
Scenes from a Marriage''.
In 1981, Ullmann also rejected the role of Emilie, due to a scheduling conflict, though in 2013 she remarked "I still don't know why I did that".
Bertil Guve was 10 when cast as Alexander. Bergman had seen Guve in a television film by
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. He was nominated for an Acade ...
and called for an audition with Guve, though the boy did not know who Bergman was. Bergman ultimately cast Guve, without sharing the story of ''Fanny and Alexander'' with him, recognising his imagination when he told a story about killing his own grandfather during the audition.
Guve also said, "I asked Ingmar later why he chose me. He said it was because I acted with my eyes".
Child actress Pernilla Allwin was cast as Fanny, and she and Guve regarded each other as rivals when they first met and began working; Bergman identified with this
sibling rivalry.
Other actors like
Harriet Andersson,
Gunnar Björnstrand and
Jarl Kulle, had previously appeared in Bergman's filmography.
Björnstrand was developing
Alzheimer's syndrome
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
, making it difficult for him to memorise his dialogue, but he was still awarded a small role.
Veteran actress
Gunn Wållgren
Gunn Wållgren (born Gunnel Margaret Haraldsdotter Wållgren; ; 16 November 1913 – 4 June 1983) was a Swedish actress.
Considered one of Sweden's better actresses, Wållgren was famous for her fragile and sensual way of acting and her inne ...
was cast as Helena, despite the fact that she was suffering from cancer, often concealing her pain during shots.
''Fanny and Alexander'' marked the final film appearances of both Björnstrand and Wållgren.
Pernilla Wallgren (later August) was cast, out of a state school where she was studying the stage, for what became her
breakthrough role
A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the film industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of critical recognition. The si ...
. August later explained she received a message inviting her to read the screenplay, and she did not know how the filmmakers knew of her. She had developed an interest in acting after seeing Bergman's ''Cries and Whispers'', and wanted a part like
Kari Sylwan's in a film one day.
Bergman also cast some of his real-life children, including
Mats Bergman
Mats Bergman (born 5 May 1948) is a Swedish actor.
He is the son of director Ingmar Bergman and Ellen Lundström, twin brother of actress Anna Bergman, and a half-brother of Swedish-Norwegian author Linn Ullmann.
Biography
Bergman graduated f ...
as Isak's nephew Aron, and
Anna Bergman as Hanna Schwartz;
Linn Ullmann
Karin Beate "Linn" Ullmann (born 9 August 1966) is a Norwegian author and journalist. A prominent literary critic, she also writes a column for Norway's leading morning newspaper and has published six novels.
Early life
Ullmann was born in Oslo ...
was to play Alexander's older sister Amanda, but when Linn's school refused to give her a break for production, her father cut the character.
His ex-wife
Käbi Laretei was cast as an aunt. In total, there were 60 characters with lines, and over 1,200
extras.
Pre-production
Art director
Anna Asp
Anna Asp (born 16 May 1946) is a Swedish production designer and Art director#In film, art director. She studied at Christer Strömholms School of Photography and then at Dramatiska Institutet in Stockholm in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Over ...
was given six months before production to prepare, and started by building miniature models and drawing sets.
In creating the Ekdahl home, Bergman envisioned his real-life grandmother's Uppsala residence as a model. She had one apartment in the residence, whereas the other apartment belonged to Erik Bergman and his family.
Asp designed Oscar and Emilie's apartment with an
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
style.
For the bishop's house, Asp sought a design that would be frightening while still being a plausible home for a man of the church, and found inspiration from a photograph of a castle in a magazine.
In designing Isak's residence, Asp worked from Bergman's memory of a Jewish antiques shop owner, looking for a
labyrinth-style.
Costume designer
Marik Vos
Marik Vos-Lundh (3 June 1923 – 13 July 1994) was a Swedish costume designer and production designer who won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 1984 for ''Fanny and Alexander''.
She was a member of the women's association Nya Idun and ...
was tasked to oversee a project requiring 250 costumes for the principal actors, along with over 1,000 costumes for the extras. She allowed the testing of the vast majority of fabric samples to determine how they appeared in photography, with Bergman demanding to see as many of the test shots as he could.
Vos also co-ordinated colours with Asp.
Filming
Principal photography began in
Uppsala, Sweden, lasting from 7 September 1981 to 22 March 1982. The filmmakers began shooting around Uppsala streets, which municipal leaders allowed the crew to redecorate.
Scenes were shot in chronological order, and Guve only learned the thrust of the story was his conflict with his stepfather during production.
On the first day of photography, Bergman decided to stage a pillow fight, which the apprehensive Wallgren credited for putting her at ease.
It also endeared the director to the child actors.
Guve developed a generally amiable relationship with Bergman and later Pernilla Allwin, and Allwin and Guve's habit of playing on bicycles between filming would dirty their costumes and cause the crew to rush to clean them. Guve also conflicted with Bergman when he laughed during a shoot, at which point Bergman reprimanded him and said that it was "the most outrageous, the most unprofessional behaviour" he had ever seen.
While production meant full-time days during the workweek, Guve remained in school by spending the weekend on homework.
Scenes were shot outside of
Uppsala Cathedral, with the crew conflicting with the dean over whether an antenna could be removed.
For Edvard's house, shooting moved to
Upplandsmuseet,
Uppsala County's museum. For interiors, the same sets in Uppsala and the Swedish Film Institute were used to portray multiple places.
With Bergman suffering from
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
, his colleagues substituted for him in shooting Oscar's funeral scene with 500 extras and a
brass band.
At one point during production, a
crossbeam fell over in the studio and nearly hit Bergman and cinematographer
Sven Nykvist. Other crew were injured in workplace accidents.
One injury took place when a male
stunt performer
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
portraying the burning Aunt Elsa was actually burned by spilled
napalm.
Much of the production was recorded by Bergman and Arne Carlsson for the 1984 documentary, ''
The Making of Fanny and Alexander''.
Themes and interpretations
Critic
Michiko Kakutani identified ''Fanny and Alexander'' as sharing marriage-drama and domestic themes as his ''
Thirst'' (1949), ''
Scenes from a Marriage'' (1973) and ''From the Life of the Marionettes''.
In contrast, academic Linda Haverty expressed surprise at Bergman including fantastical elements such as ghosts and
telepathy
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...
as they were a departure from the
psychological horror of his work in the 1960s and 1970s, for this ''
Bildungsroman'' story. Professor Frank Gado argued in his 1986 book ''The Passion of Ingmar Bergman'' that ''Fanny and Alexander'' is "actually two films, which, except that they concern members of the same family, are dramatically separate entities. The glow that warmed audiences radiates from only an outer layer; its core is as chilling as any of Bergman's fictions".
Magic and reality
Academic
Egil Törnqvist
Per Egil Törnqvist (19 December 1932, Uppsala – 9 March 2015, Amsterdam) was Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Amsterdam and an academic literary critic.
Earlier (1961) he was in charge of the drama division in th ...
identified the character Gustav Adolf with secular merriment, while Alexander and Isak inhabit a world filled with the supernatural and evil. Critic
Dave Kehr
David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a c ...
interpreted the
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
style as a product of the story being told from Alexander's perspective, coloured with "myth and legend". Alexander experiences "visions of ghosts or dream visions alongside everyday reality", author Laura Hubner wrote. The sequence these visions are seen in may be significant. After being punished by Edvard for telling a story about how the Vergérus family died, Alexander is haunted by the ghosts of the family who deny Edvard's culpability, suggesting Edvard frightened Alexander into seeing this new vision. Writer Mas'ud Zavarzadeh rationalised Alexander's visions as a product of the character being "an artist in the making". Zavarzadeh further noted, "He is involved in the construction of a more genuine and stable reality than the one that surrounds him".
As indicated by Gustav Adolf's final speech, most of the Ekdahls do not spend much time grappling with the meaning of life. Zavarzadeh also contrasted Alexander to another of his uncles, Carl, a scholar who relies on logic but who is reduced to an absurdity, at one point entertaining the children with his flatulence. Törnqvist considered the surname of the characters to be inspired by
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
's 1884 play ''
The Wild Duck'', and that it made the name Ekdal synonymous with characters who cope with illusions about reality. ''Fanny and Alexander'' adds an H to Ekdal, giving it an aristocratic air, Törnqvist added.
Huber cited academics Marilyn Johns Blackwell and Törnqvist in support of the point that, despite the title, Alexander is the lead role and Fanny is a minor character; Blackwell added that imagination is "largely gendered as male". Concurring that Fanny is a minor character, Kehr further argued that Alexander influences the plot to a lesser degree than the adult characters, but remains the focus in the storytelling.
On Alexander's visions and their reality, critic
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
argued:
In the end, Helena reads from
August Strindberg's 1902 play ''
A Dream Play'': "Anything can happen, all is possible and probable. Time and space do not exist. On an insignificant foundation of reality, imagination spins out and weaves new patterns". As with ''A Dream Play'', ''Fanny and Alexander'' explores "the unreality of life itself". Gado suggested the quote refers to memories and imagination, and that all of Bergman's filmography could be dreams forming parts of one dream.
Family conflict
''
Film Quarterly'' essayist Jarrod Hayes concluded the conflict between Alexander and Edvard is a "clash of two Titans", as Edvard summons "the power of ''an'' image, God, Alexander has the power of ''the'' Image". Törnqvist observed Alexander's father Oscar wears white while his stepfather Edvard wears black, signifying they represent
good and evil
In religion, ethics, philosophy, and psychology "good and evil" is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good shoul ...
. Academic Amir Cohen-Shalev also observed contrasts between Oscar and Edvard, Oscar as "well-meaning, loving but passive", and Edvard, as a far more strict man of the church, in the mold of Erik Bergman. Cohen-Shalev argued Edvard disguises his emotional shortcomings with his bourgeois veneer and "glib, affected piety". While espousing his devotion, Edvard personally may have secretly lost his belief, and he conflicts with Alexander with "
doublethink": using "love" to mean "hate". Following Oscar's death, Cohen-Shalev argued Emilie chooses to marry Edvard because she is frightened as to how empty she is: "I could not understand why nothing really happened, why I never felt really happy".
The story makes multiple references to
William Shakespeare's play ''
Hamlet''; According to Scott-Douglas, Alexander observes Oscar playing
''Hamlets Ghost before he dies, and afterwards appears as a ghost, while Alexander acquires a new abusive stepfather. This made "theatre and reality seem indistinguishable". Cohen-Shalev argued Oscar being reduced to a ghost is his punishment for never truly living, and losing his life. Törnqvist wrote the "triangle" of Alexander, Emilie and Edvard is explicitly explained with Emilie's reference to ''Hamlet'', and the characters
Hamlet,
Queen Gertrude and
King Claudius: "Don't act Hamlet, my son. I'm not Queen Gertrude, your kind stepfather is no king of Denmark, and this is not
Elsinore Castle, even if it does look gloomy". Emilie, like Gertrude, is also portrayed as unfaithful, with Bergman's screenplay suggesting Oscar is not Alexander's biological father: in the Nativity play, Oscar plays
Joseph. According to Helena, Oscar fell impotent after Fanny's birth, and Emilie afterwards conducted circumspect affairs.
By framing Edvard as "stepfather-king", the story becomes a battle between "infanticide and parricide", where killing Edvard is associated with Alexander's "artistic/sexual emancipation", scholar
Arnold L. Weinstein wrote. Törnqvist wrote Alexander displays an "erotic attraction to his mother", combined with a hatred for his stepfather, referencing the
Oedipus complex. Author Viveka Nyberg identified Oedipal themes as pervasive, suggesting Alexander believes he may have killed both his father and stepfather in competition for his mother's love. Nyberg described Emilie as "beautiful and aloof in equal measure", and she cares for her children but concerns herself more with other things. Alexander's story of being sold to the circus reflects his feelings of his mother forsaking him. While Alexander appears to admire Oscar and his imagination, Alexander also listens in on his parents' interactions, and sleeps in Maj's bed, with Maj acting as stand-in mother and an object of sexual desire.
Cohen-Shalev described cyclical patterns in the story: the family endures seasons of distinct "symbols, myths, and moods", including death in winter and resurrections in the spring; or, a journey in which the protagonist experiences a test in the "Valley of Tears" before achieving "blissful family unification". Edvard is also forgiven with "a kind of humanity", Cohen-Shalev wrote, as Edvard confesses his faith is a mask, and his burning death mirrors his analogy of a mask that cannot be removed unless the flesh is removed as well.
Christianity and Judaism
The story opens with exploring celebrations of the
Swedish Christmas, which is expressed through "colors, sounds, movements, music" that ''
Cineaste'' critic Royal Brown called "life-affirming, pagan Christianity". This is starkly contrasted with Edvard's Christianity, which is dictated by
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
, authoritarianism and concern with death, with Alexander finding his new home a bare, cold prison.
Professor Freddie Rokem wrote that, in contrast to Edvard's "rigorous and sterile" Protestantism, the Ekdahl Christmas party can include the Jewish Isak, as he is a dear friend of matriarch Helena Ekdahl, and this friendship is "utopian". While at Isak's, his nephew Aron Retzinsky brings out a puppet of God, or ''
deus ex machina'', to which Alexander reacts with terror; he then tries to play down that fear, and is left to wonder how seriously to take the supernatural. Author Harry Perridon argued that when Alexander declares God "is a shit", he means
God in Christianity, associating the deity with suffering in the world. After this point, true miracles in Bergman's universe have to come from a different source, Perridon wrote.
The depiction of
Jews in Sweden revolves around Isak, which academic Rochelle Wright argues is "far more nuanced" than in Bergman's previous ''
The Touch'' (1971). Isak is not completely assimilated, but his presence in Sweden is presented as positive, as he stands for imagination, "magic and mystery", Wright wrote.
Erland Josephson, who played Isak, described his performance as a stereotyped portrayal of a Jew, but with mystical and tragic elements, drawing on Jewish people and their history. Hayes argued that with its take on "time and space", the story hinted at Jewish mysticism and the
Kabbalah. The light that engulfs Isak when he screams after being beaten by Edvard calls on the light of the Kabbalah to vanquish evil, Hayes hypothesised. The scream may have invited "spiritual intervention", allowing the children's escape by rendering them invisible in Isak's trunk, while the children seemingly appear lying on the floor to Edvard. Törnqvist hypothesised that Jewish
pantheism replaces Christian belief in "grace and punishment" in the story. Royal Brown argued that Isak's "cabbalistic magic and animism" is closer to the Ekdahls' Christianity than to Edvard's.
Törnqvist identified Ismael as "one of the more enigmatic features" of ''Fanny and Alexander'', commenting on the character as a fusion of elements. Ismael speaks the
Finno-Swedish language, and is
androgynous
Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...
, being a male character played by a woman,
Stina Ekblad
Stina Åsa Maria Ekblad (born 26 February 1954 in Solf, Ostrobothnia, Finland) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish actress. Living in Stockholm, she has appeared mostly in Swedish productions. She received a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in 1987 ...
. Ismael also says to Alexander, "Perhaps we are the same person". Author Daniel Humphrey also commented in Ismael's androgyny, conveying "queerness and foreignness" but presented as spiritually identical to Alexander. Additionally, Humphrey commented on the name, with
Ishmael
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
of the Bible being a bastard son of
Abraham and progenitor of the
Arab people
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
, considered "paradigmatic" by Christians and Jews alike. ''A Dream Play'' author Strindberg had taken interest in the Ishmael character. Törnqvist also identified Ismael as matching Hamlet in education, intelligence, real or feigned insanity and anti-social nature.
Hayes commented on the way Ismael holds Alexander, remarking it was "Alexander's erotic encounter with a man/a woman/himself". Critic
Robin Wood and Richard Lippe argued Ismael directly replaces Oscar, dismissed by Alexander as not serving a purpose; Ismael instead brings danger and sexual ambiguity: Wood and Lippe observed Ismael touching Alexander and kissing Aron. The role of Ismael and Alexander's ritual in Edvard's death is uncertain: Ismael speaks of what will happen in the future in describing Edvard's death, but it can all be logically explained, with a police officer informing Emilie the death is legally accidental.
Release
While cinematic
film stock
Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed,
edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent p ...
was used in production, Bergman conceived of the presentation as a television
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, and there are different versions, presented as a miniseries and film.
The longer version intended for television was the original. After completing production, Bergman had to edit the complete cut to 188 minutes for screenings in theatres, regretting losing much of the fantasy material. He remarked, "This was extremely troublesome, as I had to cut into the nerves and lifeblood of the film".
The film premiered in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
on 17 December 1982 in its 188-minute theatrical cut. Distribution rights were sold to 30 other countries in 1982. It subsequently opened in France on 9 March 1983,
West Germany on 8 October 1983,
and the United States on 17 June 1983.
The complete version runs 312 minutes. It was released in Swedish theatres in 1983, and screened at the
40th Venice International Film Festival
The 40th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 11 September 1983.
Jury
The following people comprised the 1983 jury:
* Bernardo Bertolucci (Italy) (head of jury)
* Jack Clayton (UK)
* Peter Handke (Austria)
* ...
in September 1983. It subsequently aired as a miniseries on
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
in four segments, and five episodes of unequal length at Bergman's demand. They ran 92, 40, 37, 60 and 90 minutes, beginning 25 December 1984. After debuting at the Swedish Film Institute on 16 September 1984, ''The Making of Fanny and Alexander'' aired with a television repeat of ''Fanny and Alexander'' in Sweden on 18 August 1986. In 1991, the
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
listed the five-hour version as among the
longest films in history. The entire miniseries ran on
SVT1
SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.
History
Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...
in Sweden on 2 August 2007, with a 10-minute news cast interruption, rendering it a two-part version.
The screenplay was also published as a book and translated into English in 1983.
In
Region 2,
Artificial Eye
Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.
History
Artificial Eye was founded in ...
released the five-hour version on
DVD in 2002. In 2011 in
Region A,
The Criterion Collection published a
Blu-ray edition including the theatrical version, the television version, and ''The Making of Fanny and Alexander''.
Reception
Box office
There were large audiences in Sweden at showings of ''Fanny and Alexander'', including at the five-hour cut, making it the most popular box-office film Bergman had in his native country. It had 374,208 admissions in France and 165,146 in Germany. This amounted to minimal presence in the French box-office.
''Fanny and Alexander'' finished its run grossing $6,783,304 in North America.
According to critic
Vincent Canby's analysis, the film did "extremely well" and had its niche audience, but could not match summer
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Blo ...
competition which dominated the top 15 spots in the box office, particularly ''
Return of the Jedi''. In 1992, ''
Variety'' ranked it the 21st highest grossing foreign film in U.S. box office history, and the fifth-highest grossing Swedish film after 1967's ''
I Am Curious (Yellow)'' and ''
Elvira Madigan'', ''
Dear John'' (1964) and ''
My Life as a Dog'' (1985).
Critical reception
In Sweden, it received generally positive reviews, with ''
Expressen
''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue".
...
'' critic Lasse Bergström approving of the portrayal of the
Oscarian era
The period following the accession of Oscar II of Sweden, Oscar II to the throne of Sweden in 1872 was marked by political conflict. The Lantmanna Party, representing peasant proprietors, dominated the Lower House of parliament, and demanded tax r ...
. Critic
Stig Larsson assessed it as Bergman's ironic take on his past filmography. ''
Jönköpings-Posten'' posted a positive review on 7 February 1983, followed by a second critic in the same paper accusing the film of creating false joy on 21 February. The film ranked 10th on
Cahiers du Cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
's
Top 10 Films of the Year List in 1983.
Vincent Canby's contemporary review in ''
The New York Times'' described it a "big, dark, beautiful, generous family chronicle"; Canby also praised the cast as "uniformly excellent".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
awarded it four stars, assessing it as "a big, exciting, ambitious film", relatable to audiences though more specific in its story than Bergman's prior studies of faith and sex, and named it the 4th best film of 1983. ''
Variety'' staff called it "a sumptuously produced period piece" blending "elegance with intimacy". For ''
The Washington Post'', Rita Kempley found the story more cheerful than past Bergman productions, highlighting Ewa Fröling and comparing her to Liv Ullmann.
In ''The New York Times'', Michiko Kakutani compared the film's "generosity of vision" to the
comedies of William Shakespeare.
''
The Nation'' critic Robert Hatch compared it to Shakespeare's ''
The Tempest'' as a final life-affirming work, featuring "magic with the casual authority of
Prospero himself".
Kerry Brougher denied it was Bergman's ''magnum opus'', but still said it was "a thoughtful, graceful, beautifully filmed work". ''
National Review'' critic John Simon wrote a negative review, calling it "overstuffed", and expressing lack of interest in Fröling and Guve as newcomers to Bergman's filmography.
Ebert added it to his
Great Movies list in 2004, hailing it as "astonishingly beautiful", crediting
Sven Nykvist for "color and warmth".
In 2010, ''
The Guardian'' ranked the film eighth in its list of 25 greatest
arthouse films. Reviewing The Criterion Collection Blu-ray, Andre Dellamorte wrote that despite the five-hour runtime, the story was uncomplicated but always interesting. ''
The Observer'' quoted actor
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen (; born 17 October 1974) is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005). He currently stars as Tom Wambsgans ...
as saying the film "featured just the most extraordinary acting I'd ever seen". Macfadyen added that as a
RADA student, the film was shown as "an example to follow – an example of people acting with each other".
Polish film director
Agnieszka Holland also praised it in 2012, saying both children and intellectuals could enjoy it and that it gives a very vivid portrait of another era. In his ''2015 Movie Guide'',
Leonard Maltin gave it four stars, identifying its emotions as "exquisitely expressed".
Pauline Kael wrote a more mixed review, enjoying the merry atmosphere but writing the "conventionality" is "rather shocking", suggesting Bergman had moved to Victorian times to escape his usual eccentric viewpoints. ''
The Guardian'' critic Alex Cox wrote a negative review in 2006, claiming there was no story for the first two of three hours, and that the analogy to ''Hamlet'' did not hold up as Alexander knows Edvard is evil, whereas Hamlet is uncertain if the Ghost is a demon and Claudius is innocent. Cox had not seen the longer version, but considered it might be better.
In 1990, ''Fanny and Alexander'' was named the best film of the 1980s by ''
Los Angeles Times'' by
Sheila Benson,
who called it "generous, ribald, reflective and radiantly life-affirming", and Michael Wilmington, and the third best by ''
Newsweek'' critic David Ansen.
In 1996, ''Fanny and Alexander'' was ranked at No. 36 in
Movieline Magazine's "100 Greatest Foreign Films". In 2004, ''The New York Times'' also included the film on its list of "the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made". Xan Brooks, in ''The Guardian''s Film Season, chose the film as the eighth "best arthouse film of all time". He described it as "an opulent family saga, by turns bawdy, stark and strange" with a rare abundance of "indelible supporting characters".
In 2007, the film was ranked at No. 23 by ''
The Guardian''s readers' poll on its list of "40 greatest foreign films of all time". The film was Voted at No. 44 on the list of "100 Greatest Films" by the prominent French magazine ''
Cahiers du cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' in 2008.
In the
British Film Institute's 2012 ''
Sight & Sound'' polls of the greatest films ever made, ''Fanny and Alexander'' was 84th among critics and 16th among directors. In the earlier 2002 version of the list, the film ranked 35th among critics and 19th among directors. Also in 2002, ''
Sight and Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' magazine invited several critics to make a list of the best films of last 25 years and ''Fanny and Alexander'' was ranked at number three. In 2012 the film was voted at number five on the 25 best Swedish films of all-time list by a poll of 50 film critics and academics conducted by film magazine FLM. In 2018 ,the film was ranked 28th in BBC's list of The 100 greatest foreign language films. ''Fanny and Alexander'' has a
100% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews, with a
weighted average of 9/10. The site's consensus reads: "Ingmar Bergman conveys the sweep of childhood with a fastidious attention to detail and sumptuous insight into human frailty in ''Fanny and Alexander'', a masterwork that crystalizes many of the directors' preoccupations into a familial epic". On
Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 100 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Accolades
The film received six
Academy Award nominations, winning four, including
Best Foreign Language Film. While it received the third highest number of nominations of 1984, after ''
Terms of Endearment'' and ''
The Right Stuff'' (both released in 1983), the fact that Sweden chose to submit it for Best Foreign Language Film rendered it ineligible for a
Best Picture nomination. The four wins was the most any foreign-language film had received at the Academy Awards to date until it tied the record with ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity, including Ch ...
'' (
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
), and ''
Parasite'' (
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
). ''Fanny and Alexander'' marked the third and final time Bergman won Best Foreign Language Film, after ''
The Virgin Spring'' (1960) and ''
Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961). Bergman did not personally attend the ceremony, while working on a stage production in
Munich, so his award was accepted by his wife
Ingrid von Rosen
Ingrid von Rosen (sometimes cited as Ingrid Bergman; 17 January 1930 – 20 May 1995) was a Swedish diarist who was married to Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the latter half of her life.
Biography
Born Ingrid Karlebo in Stockholm ...
and Jörn Donner. The film won the
FIPRESCI Prize at
1983 Venice Film Festival. It also won the
French Syndicate of Cinema Critics
The French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (french: Syndicat français de la critique de cinéma et des films de télévision) has, each year since 1946, awarded a prize ("Prix de la critique", English: "Critics Prize"), the Prix Méliès, to the bes ...
Award for Best Foreign Film.
Legacy
After ostensibly retiring from directing, Bergman completed ''
After the Rehearsal
''After the Rehearsal'' ( sv, Efter repetitionen) is a television film, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman in 1984. The script contains numerous quotes from Strindberg's ''A Dream Play''. The film was screened out of competition at the 1984 ...
'' in 1984. Bergman also conceived of a biographical project following his parents Erik and Karin Åkerblom, and in a press conference in August 1989, announced he planned a production that could be considered a follow-up to ''Fanny and Alexander'' and his 1987 autobiography ''The Magic Lantern''. The resulting 1991–92 miniseries and film ''
The Best Intentions'' was directed by
Bille August and won the ''
Palme d'Or'' at the
1992 Cannes Film Festival
The 45th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1992. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Den goda viljan'' by Bille August.
The festival opened with ''Basic Instinct'', directed by Paul Verhoeven and closed with ''Far and Away'', directed by Ro ...
. Bergman selected Bille August as director on condition that ''Fanny and Alexander'' actress Pernilla Wallgren star as Bergman's mother; she did under the name
Pernilla August. Critic Vincent Canby also identified Ingmar's screenplay ''
Sunday's Children
''Sunday's Children'' ( sv, Söndagsbarn) is a 1992 Swedish drama film directed by Daniel Bergman and written by Ingmar Bergman. At the 28th Guldbagge Awards the film won the award for Best Cinematography (Tony Forsberg) and Thommy Berggren wa ...
'', directed by
Daniel Bergman and released in 1992, as "a continuation" of ''Fanny and Alexander'' and ''The Best Intentions'', and questioned if Ingmar had truly retired. Whereas Ingmar's recollections of Erik Bergman are damning in ''Fanny and Alexander'', his study of his father is "far more forgiving" in ''The Best Intentions'' and ''Sunday's Children''. After ''The Best Intentions'', Pernilla August played Ingmar's mother twice more, in the 1996 ''
Private Confessions
''Private Confessions'' ( sv, Enskilda samtal) is a 1996 Swedish drama film directed by Liv Ullmann and written by Ingmar Bergman. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
''Private Confessions'' is a ...
'' and 1997 ''
In the Presence of a Clown''.
Following Bergman's death in 2007,
PostNord Sverige decided to honour the director with a
postage stamp depicting him directing ''Fanny and Alexander''. In the two decades following the release, "''Fanny and Alexander''" decorations were also common in Swedish businesses at
Jul. In 2017,
Hallwyl Museum
Hallwyl Museum ( sv, Hallwylska museet) is a Swedish national museum housed in the historical Hallwyl House in central Stockholm located on 4, Hamngatan facing Berzelii Park. The house once belonged to the Count and Countess von Hallwyl, but was ...
also exhibited costumes from ''Fanny and Alexander'' and other Bergman films.
Stefan Larsson directed a stage adaptation of ''Fanny and Alexander'' for the
Royal Dramatic Theatre, which traveled to Uppsala City Theater in 2012. It played at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, D.C. in 2013. In 2010, stage adaptations also played in Finland, directed by Maria Lundström and Tiina Puumalainen, and Norway, where it was the biggest box office success in the
National Theatre's history. Later,
Stephen Beresford wrote an adaptation for
The Old Vic in London, directed by Max Webster and starring
Penelope Wilton. It was scheduled to debut February 2018.
The film has exercised considerable influence on subsequent filmmaking, not only in Sweden. South Korean director
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...
has listed it as one of his favourite films, and stated that it has "the most beautiful ending to a feature film career in the history of cinema". French director
Arnaud Desplechin frequently cites ''Fanny and Alexander'' as a critical touchstone for his own career, and has labelled his own ''La Vie des Morts'' as "a complete rip-off of that film". He noted that "I saw Fanny and Alexander and then I became a director. Before, I was a technician, and after that film, I became a director." Filmmaker
Barry Jenkins listed ''Fanny and Alexander'' as one of his favourite films. The Japanese filmmaker
Akira Kurosawa cited ''Fanny and Alexander'' as one of his favorite films.
See also
*
List of submissions to the 56th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
*
Explanatory notes
References
Citations
General bibliography
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External links
* (188-minute cut)
* (miniseries/312-minute cut)
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*
"''Fanny and Alexander'': Bergman's Bildungsroman" an essay by
Rick Moody at the
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
"''Fanny and Alexander'': In the World of Childhood" an essay by
Stig Björkman
Stig Björkman (born 2 October 1938) is a Swedish writer and film critic. He has also directed fifteen films since 1964. His 1972 film ''Georgia, Georgia'' was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival. His 1975 film ''The White W ...
at the
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
{{Authority control
1982 films
1982 drama films
Best Film Guldbagge Award winners
Best Foreign Film César Award winners
Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners
Best Foreign Language Film Golden Globe winners
Films about Christianity
Films about Jews and Judaism
Films about siblings
Films directed by Ingmar Bergman
Films set in 1907
Films set in 1908
Films set in 1909
Films set in 1910
Films set in Uppsala
Films that won the Best Costume Design Academy Award
Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
Films whose director won the Best Director Guldbagge Award
French drama films
German drama films
1980s German-language films
Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman
Swedish Christmas films
Swedish drama films
1980s Swedish-language films
Swedish television miniseries
West German films
1980s Christmas films
Films about remarriage
1980s French films
1980s German films
1980s Swedish films