''The Best Intentions'' ( sv, Den goda viljan) is a 1991 Swedish
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Bille August
Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...
and written 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 ...
. It is semi-autobiographical, telling the story of the complex relationship between Bergman's parents,
Erik Bergman
Erik Valdemar Bergman (24 November 1911, in Nykarleby – 24 April 2006, in Helsinki) was a composer of classical music from Finland.
Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works (many of which he later prohibited from bein ...
and Karin Åkerblom, who are renamed Henrik and Anna in the film but retain their true surnames. The film documents the courtship and the difficult early years of their marriage, until the point when Anna becomes pregnant with their second son, who corresponds to Ingmar himself.
Samuel Fröler
Per Samuel Fröler (born 24 March 1957) is a Swedish actor. His break-through was in the TV series Tre Kärlekar in 1989. He played the protagonist in the drama series ''Skärgårdsdoktorn'', and has also acted in several films. At the 28th Guldb ...
and
Pernilla August
Pernilla August (; born Mia Pernilla Hertzman-Ericson; 13 February 1958) is a Swedes, Swedish actor, actress, film director, director and screenwriter. Being one of Sweden's leading actresses and a longtime collaborator with director Ingmar Bergm ...
played Henrik and Anna, respectively.
Ingmar Bergman wrote the screenplay based on scattered notes and conversations with his parents in their later years. At the time, it was one of the most expensive Swedish films ever made. It can be viewed as a continuation of Bergman's 1982 film ''
Fanny and Alexander
''Fanny and Alexander'' ( sv, Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982 period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in Uppsala, Sweden during the first decade of the twentieth century. ...
''. After Bergman had ostensibly retired from directing following ''Fanny and Alexander'', he chose August as his director on the strength of the latter's 1988 ''
Pelle the Conqueror
''Pelle the Conqueror'' ( da, Pelle Erobreren, sv, Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of two ...
'', on condition that Pernilla August be cast as Anna.
The film was condensed into a theatrical version in 1992 and won the ''
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
'' at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
.
Plot
In the early 20th century, Henrik Bergman is studying to be a parish minister under the
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
. A poor man, he meets the wealthy Anna Åkerblom through his friend, Anna's brother Ernst. Anna is vain and stubborn, and in Henrik's belief she is elitist, yet she is also attractive and capable of enjoying pleasure. Although Henrik lives in a sexual relationship with Frida, a waitress, Anna seduces him and proposes an engagement. As Henrik and Anna begin to see more of each other, Henrik secretly continues living with Frida. While speaking with Anna's mother Karin, Henrik confesses that he feels unwelcome among the Åkerbloms. Karin tells him frankly that she feels Anna needs a mature man who can nurture her, but he is lacking on both counts. Karin also tells Anna that Henrik is still living with Frida, a fact verified by the family. Henrik and Anna stop seeing each other until Frida appeals to Anna to take Henrik back, citing his misery.
While Anna is treated for
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, a brother is sent to tell Henrik that she no longer wishes to speak to him. However, unknown to her parents, Anna sends a letter to Ernst to be forwarded to Henrik, telling him she wishes to resume their relationship. Her parents receive the letter and Anna's father Johan opens it, after which Karin reads it and burns it. After Johan dies, Karin confesses the act to Anna, who angrily seeks Henrik. By then, Henrik is planning to go to Forsboda, a remote village in northern Sweden, to work in a parish whose head minister is aged and ailing. Anna resolves to go with him, and they marry despite their class conflicts.
The Bergmans have their first son,
Dag, but Henrik becomes embroiled in the local
strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
, as he refuses to endorse poor working conditions and lends his church for a socialist meeting. This displeases Nordenson, who also dislikes Bergman's manner of instruction of Nordenson's daughters, as Nordenson refuses to kneel with his wife and girls. In the meantime, the Bergmans take in Petrus, a troubled orphaned boy. Later, Henrik and Anna are unexpectedly summoned to
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 ...
to meet
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, who chairs a board managing
Sophiahemmet
Sophiahemmet is a private hospital at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It is associated with the Sophiahemmet University College. Its connection with the royal family goes back to 1884 when nursing education sponsored by Queen Sophia was ...
Hospital and is seeking a chaplain, with the archbishop recommending Henrik. During the meeting, Victoria asks him if he believes suffering is sent by God. He replies suffering is useless and God views the world with horror, and leaves the palace fuming at having to flatter the Queen. The Bergmans decline the position, but the villagers are upset they did not hear of the offer except through rumours, and are disturbed by Henrik publicly humiliating Nordenson in church.
Upset, and expecting her second child, Anna insists on sending Petrus away, saying she did not agree to a permanent adoption and she dislikes the boy. Petrus overhears the conversation, and furious, kidnaps Dag and carries him to an icy river. The Bergmans see them and give chase, with Henrik saving Dag and slapping down Petrus, after which the boy leaves. In despair, Anna decides she can no longer live in Forsboda and takes Dag to the Åkerblom house, while Henrik at first resolves to stay in the village. He finally accepts the position in Stockholm and asks Anna to come with him, and she replies this is all she wants.
Cast
Production
Development
Semi-retired 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 the film while writing his memoirs ''The Magic Lantern''.
He wrote the screenplay based on the early years of the marriage of his parents, Lutheran minister
Erik Bergman
Erik Valdemar Bergman (24 November 1911, in Nykarleby – 24 April 2006, in Helsinki) was a composer of classical music from Finland.
Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works (many of which he later prohibited from bein ...
and Karin Åkerblom, between 1909 and 1918, attempting to see them less as "mythical giants who dominated his childhood", and more as complicated people. By ending the film before he was born, he examined their conflicts that did not have to do with him.
In writing his parents' story before his birth, Ingmar found himself limited to "fragmentary notes, brief tales, isolated episodes". Many of Karin's letters to Erik were lost and presumed destroyed by Karin. Ingmar's sister
Margareta Bergman
Karin Ann Margareta Bergman (22 August 1922 – 27 September 2006) was a Swedish novelist. She had an unhappy childhood in a strict Lutheran family, something depicted in her brother Ingmar Bergman's semi-autobiographical film '' Fanny och Alexan ...
possessed most of their parents' papers, and some were published by 1992. Erik had written an
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
for Margareta in 1941. One document Ingmar had was his mother's diary, though it was not a source for many events in the film. He attempted to capture his parents' characters based on his documents and his conversations with them in later years.
Professor Rochelle Wright details where the film differs from history, noting that unlike Henrik and Anna, Erik and Karin in fact met as
second cousins
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
. While Karin's parents were opposed to her marrying Erik, there are not many details as to how this conflict played out in reality. The separation of Erik and Karin related not to her treatment for an illness in Switzerland, but rather to her studies for nursing in Stockholm and
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
.
Ingmar completed the screenplay in 1989. He respected Danish director
Bille August
Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...
and submitted the screenplay to him.
August was facing budget difficulties with the Hollywood film he was working on, and abandoned it to travel to Stockholm to meet Bergman, whom he admired. Bergman told him he had seen August's film ''
Pelle the Conqueror
''Pelle the Conqueror'' ( da, Pelle Erobreren, sv, Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of two ...
'' seven times and that August would have complete control over the direction of ''The Best Intentions''.
In a press conference in August 1989, Bergman said the film could be seen as related to ''The Magic Lantern'' and his semi-autobiographical 1982 film ''
Fanny and Alexander
''Fanny and Alexander'' ( sv, Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982 period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in Uppsala, Sweden during the first decade of the twentieth century. ...
''.
Filming
![Tureholms slott syd 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Tureholms_slott_syd_2012.jpg)
Bergman insisted on the casting of
Pernilla Östergren as Anna, after she played Maj in ''Fanny and Alexander''. Bille August had not met her before ''The Best Intentions'', but later married her. Pernilla accepted the role, not knowing it had been written for her, which she said would have frightened her.
Producer
Ingrid Dahlberg Ingrid Dahlberg (born 1941) is a former Theater Manager and President of ''Dramaten'' (the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre), from 1997 to 2002, and Governor (''Landshövding'') of Dalarna County from 2002 to 2006. She is a member of the Board of the ...
secured the
kr 67 million budget by approaching various broadcasters across Europe.
It was estimated to be the most expensive Scandinavian film in history. ''The Best Intentions'' took eight months to film, beginning in July 1990.
Several locations across Sweden were used, including Stockholm Film Studios,
Uppsala County
Uppsala County ( sv, Uppsala län) is a county or ''län'' on the eastern coast of Sweden, whose capital is the city of Uppsala. It borders the counties of Dalarna, Stockholm, Södermanland, Västmanland, Gävleborg, and the Baltic Sea.
Provi ...
and
Tureholm Castle
Tureholm Castle is a privately owned castle in Trosa Municipality in Sweden. The castle was built in the 18th century, and is a listed building since 1987.
History
Tureholm is situated on the location of the original castle that belonged t ...
.
Release
The film was announced at a press conference in Stockholm in December 1991. To avoid taking attention away from Bille August, Bergman did not attend.
The six-hour version of the film ran on Swedish television in four parts in December 1991.
The film played at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in May 1992. Distribution for the three-hour theatrical version in the United States, Japan and numerous countries in Europe was secured by July 1992.
Reception
Critical reception
![Pernilla_August](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Pernilla_August.jpg)
Derek Elley of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote the film "packs a sustained emotional wallop that lightens its three-hour span," and Pernilla August "holds the screen in a series of throat-catching sequences."
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
, writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', said that the second boy Anna is pregnant with at the end of the film is Ingmar Bergman, "whose screenplay looks back at the social, economic and personal forces that turned his parents' early years together into a tug of war," while Bille August's direction is "more decorous and less bold." Maslin stated the film "loses momentum" with the romance story lacking significance.
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' panned the film as a "three-hour Swedish
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
" that "fails to live up to its pedigree," while calling Pernilla August "wonderfully expressive" and Max von Sydow and Ghita Nørby excellent. ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
s Owen Glieberman gave the film an A, praising it as "the most moving film I’ve seen this year," and said that Pernilla's "radiant sensuality and pride evoke an entire Bergman universe of emotionally engulfing women."
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
, writing for ''
The Los Angeles Times
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', felt the film is missing Bergman's direction, but it has strength in his screenplay and an acting quality "uniformly quite high," with "special nods" to Pernilla and von Sydow. ''
People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' critics judged the film to be "equally memorable" to Bergman's 1973 miniseries ''
Scenes from a Marriage
''Scenes from a Marriage'' ( sv, Scener ur ett äktenskap) is a 1973 Swedish television miniseries written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Over the course of six hour-long episodes, it explores the disintegration of the marriage between Maria ...
'', filled with "vivid, literate confrontations" that Bille August gives "naturalistic fervor".
The ''
Time Out'' review states ''The Best Intentions'' lacks the joy of ''Fanny and Alexander'' and the length of the film is challenging for the viewer. In 2016, ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' ranked the film 69th among 69 counted winners of the ''
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
'' to date, concluding "August’s rather bland direction made this a forgettable Palme." The film has an 81% score on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on 16 reviews.
Critic Vincent Canby also identified ''
Sunday's Children'' (1992), directed by Daniel Bergman and written by Ingmar, as "a continuation" of ''Fanny and Alexander'' and ''The Best Intentions''.
Author Geoffrey Macnab wrote that whereas Ingmar's recollections of Erik are damning in his 1982 film ''Fanny and Alexander'', his 1991–92 study of his father is "far more forgiving" in ''The Best Intentions'' and ''Sunday's Children''.
Accolades
The film won the ''
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
'' and
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
for August 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 ...
.
At the
28th Guldbagge Awards
The 28th Guldbagge Awards ceremony, presented by the Swedish Film Institute, honored the best Swedish films of 1992, and took place on 1 March 1993. ''House of Angels'' directed by Colin Nutley was presented with the award for Best Film.
Winne ...
, the film was nominated for six awards, winning two, for August as
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
and Bergman for
Best Screenplay.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
* – theatrical version
* – television version
*
Cannes profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Intentions, The
1992 films
1992 drama films
Palme d'Or winners
Swedish television films
Swedish drama films
1990s Swedish-language films
Films directed by Bille August
Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman
Films set in the 1900s
Films set in the 1910s
The Samuel Goldwyn Company films
Films set in Uppsala
1990s Swedish films
1991 television films
1991 films
Swedish television miniseries
Semi-autobiographical films