Torment

1944

1h 40m

Drama

List

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

81%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

Teenager Jan-Erik Widgren (Alf Kjellin) meets the lonely Bertha Olsson (Mai Zetterling), a woman struggling with alcoholism. Though Bertha is already romantically linked to Caligula (Stig Järrel), Jan-Erik's heartless teacher, she begins a relationship with the boy anyway. When Caligula learns that Jan-Erik is having an affair with Bertha, he begins to torture his student psychologically. He reserves his cruelest behavior for Bertha, however, which results in a tragic turn of events.

Read More

Read Less

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Part an antifascist allegory, in part a study in sexual hysteria.

Jul 30, 2007

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Its harsh pessimism anticipates the spiritually tormented universe of Bergman's own work.

Jul 14, 2007

Full Review

Caryn James

New York Times

Emotionally haunting.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 14, 2007

Full Review

Herbert Cohn

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

It is a stunning character study... told with bold realism, adult understanding and an exciting dramatic technique. Its English sub-captions are first-rate. Torment is a motion picture treat.

Aug 1, 2020

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

The more intellectual Torment gets, the more sludgy and unpersuasive it becomes. But at least the character dynamics work.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 17, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A dark coming-of-age melodrama.

Rated: B

Aug 23, 2007

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Ingmar Bergman wrote the screenplay for this film at the age of 26, and it was his first major film. In it he shows his personal disdain for traditional schooling, which invariably included learning by rote, killing all creativity, and taught at times by sadistic teachers. In the film a Latin teacher gets the nickname 'Caligula' for his cruelty, and if his interrogations of the students remind you of a Nazi SS officer, that's no accident; director Alf Sjöberg apparently modeled him after Himmler. And yet, one of the young students says 'I don't believe a person can be all evil', and in that line we get a hint of Bergman's plumbing the depths of the human soul which would take place over the following decades. Things get complicated when the student (Alf Kjellin) begins seeing a young tobacco shop clerk (Mai Zetterling), only to find she is being tormented by a creepy older man whose identity she won't divulge. The film has elements of the frustrated teenage rebel, as Kjellin argues with his parents who just don't understand, as well as elements of a film noir drama, as things get scary for Zetterling. Director Sjöberg makes use of a lot of high camera angles, as well as plays with light and shadow in some interesting ways, but as the film plays out, it begins to feel a little heavy-handed. Its message is one of triumphing over cruelty in the early part of one's life, even if events at the time appear as though they might crush one's soul or destroy one's life, but it doesn't quite have enough finesse to be very good or excellent. Still, not bad, and worth watching if you're a Bergman fan.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

dave j

Sadistic instructor has impact on his students unbeknownst how far his torment has exceeded. Written by Ingmar Bergman.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

s r

Another lost flixster rating. This film is the one that brought all the attention to Bergman. It's complex and close to home.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

ok Swedish youth in revolt pic like asphalt jungle or rebel without a cause

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The first film in my, Ingmar Bergman journey through everything he has been attached to. Here was his first, partial, directorial debut. Even though, this was mostly an, Alf Sjöberg directed movie, I have a good feeling that, Bergman had a big influence on how this film was made. This is his story after all being the writer of this work. All that being said, I wouldn't call this chapter a classic by any means, but I did enjoy almost every frame of this tragic tale and it was also more disturbing and dark for a movie from the 40's than I would have expected to see. If thee american ratings were to apply here, it would likely only get a PG or PG13 rating at most for just it's subject matter alone among some other elements that would spoil the story here. It is worth a look and I would revisit this one for a second opinion. It does have a lot of memorable moments that one would see in any classic romance film. It is one that I would recommend to anyone who loves classic films or for anyone that would like to go down this challenging journey with me through one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

my score might even go up. the film is emotional, with excellent explorations into powerful themes of sex, dominance, terror, and the loss of innocence. bergman's dialogue is some of his earliest, and some of the best of his career, and sjoberg made stunning direction choices. the film plays out like part hitchcock, part trouffaut, and part "the graduate". an excellent film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Alf Sjöberg

Director

Stig Järrel

Caligula

Alf Kjellin

Jan-Erik Widgren

Mai Zetterling

Bertha Olsson

Olof Winnerstrand

The Headmaster

Gösta Cederlund

Pippi

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

100%

81%

Summer Interlude

100%

83%

Monika

94%

94%

Wild Strawberries

92%

86%

Hour of the Wolf

75%

71%

The Rite

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman dies at 89

View more photos

Synopsis

Teenager Jan-Erik Widgren (Alf Kjellin) meets the lonely Bertha Olsson (Mai Zetterling), a woman struggling with alcoholism. Though Bertha is already romantically linked to Caligula (Stig Järrel), Jan-Erik's heartless teacher, she begins a relationship with the boy anyway. When Caligula learns that Jan-Erik is having an affair with Bertha, he begins to torture his student psychologically. He reserves his cruelest behavior for Bertha, however, which results in a tragic turn of events.

Director: Alf Sjöberg
Screenwriter: Ingmar Bergman
Production Co: Svensk Filmindustri
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 40m