Fanny and Alexander

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Jacob B This epic of magical realism feels like the film Ingmar Bergman had been working towards his whole career. Having come to his works as a student in college, I thought his early works were the last word in sophistication; films that you could impress people with during a dinner conversation. I avoided “Fanny and Alexander” since it was labeled as his “accessible” film. Over the years I drifted to other foreign directors and neglected Bergman. Then about ten years ago near Christmas I discovered the full length version of this film (5 hours plus) and it gave me such pleasure and surprise in watching it. It is (I guess) his most “accessible” film, but Bergman has lost none of his intellectual heft. It is also his most balanced filmed. Lofty musings on life’s meaning, on religion and death, Bergmans favorite topics, abound to be sure, but so do quiet and elegiac scenes of nostalgia, tradition, childhood, innocence, and family. Bergman wove a magical (and at times, dark) Christmas tale with more heart than any cheesy modern holiday film , a film that examines childhood and family more deeply than any Spielberg-esque saga and with an epic sweep David Lean would approve of …and yet it is as intimate and plain spoken as a short story by Willa Cather. Ingmar Bergmans filmography may have been front loaded with masterpieces but this late film is as close to perfection as a mortal can get. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/25 Full Review Alexsander F Muito bom o filme, me surpreendeu demais, um ótimo texto, digno de um poema lírico, a obra é simplesmente fantástica, surrealista e fantasiosa, é tão boa que apesar de ser longa, o tempo passa bem rápido. O cinema bergmaniano é para ser assistido em estado de graça, toda a minha ode a este grande diretor de cinema . Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/02/25 Full Review Olle K As a native Swede, nothing shows the eeriness of Swedishness as much as this movie. Watch it. Learn to not like Sweden. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/03/24 Full Review Isaiah Y One of Ingmar Bergman's best films Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Thomas V This film is long but never boring, both joyous and quite sad, harsh but also exuberant. It's lushly filmed and the performances are solid, especially Alexander. I quite liked it and I understand why it's considered one of the greats. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/04/23 Full Review dave s What is Ingmar Bergman's best film? Persona? The Seventh Seal? Cries and Whispers? Or could it be Fanny and Alexander, Bergman's semi-autobiographical story of growing up in early 20th-century Sweden? The first act of the film is a joyous celebration of what it is to be young as young Alexander (Bertil Guve) rollicks through life with the expansive Ekdahl family, a bourgeois group who embrace the joys of music, food and theater. However, when his father dies and his mother marries a stern bishop, he finds himself at the mercy of the cruel whims of his rigid stepfather. It is a visually stunning film, shot by Bergman's regular cinematographer Sven Nykvist, the first half filled with vibrant colors, the second half with drab tones, clearly representing the contrasts in Alexander's early life and punctuating the significant impacts of the adult influences in our formative years. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Fanny and Alexander

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