Monika

R

1952

1h 36m

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

83%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

Disillusioned young city-dweller Harry (Lars Ekborg) is frustrated with his societal responsibilities and his menial job, but when he meets sultry beauty Monika (Harriet Andersson), and she takes an interest in him, life takes on new meaning. Inflamed with passion, the lovers steal Harry's father's boat and give up their banal city life for an erotic summer spent on an island. There, Monika teaches Harry to give up his inhibitions, and all is good -- until Monika's true nature is revealed.

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Manohla Dargis

New York Times

More than 50 years after its first screening in America, Monika arrives in New York again to light up the screen, this time without a trace of impropriety.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 14, 2007

Full Review

J. Hoberman

Village Voice

Bergman's tale of heedless teenage love is a sort of neorealist Rebel Without a Cause -- except that sex is acknowledged and the outlaw is a girl.

Nov 13, 2007

Full Review

Anthony Lane

New Yorker

Bergman would be no more adept a pornographer than he would be at filming hip-hop, but his camera did stare at the human surface with an intentness unmatched since von Sternberg rhapsodized over Marlene Dietrich.

Jul 30, 2007

Full Review

Jean-Luc Godard

Arts (France)

Summer With Monika is the most original film of the most original of directors.

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Harriet Andersson's performance is a marvel, decidedly the best work by any actor in a Bergman film thus far.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 12, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Monika's piercing gaze, so full of defiance and inner turmoil, seems to dare the audience to judge her for her actions, while at the same time embodying a kind of tragically wasted youth.

Rated: 4/4

Aug 6, 2019

Full Review

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Grant H

A depressing film whose reputation hasn't worn well with the passage of time. Some scenes are very stagey. There are many Bergman trademark "meaningful" landscape shots but the story is slight and episodic. I was expecting more.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/20/24

Full Review

nick s

An immersive story rather than a riveting one, but definitely one that draws you in. So count on a bit of a slow burn. The acting is perfect, as is the patient artistic directing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/18/23

Full Review

Dave S

In an effort to escape their mundane, working-class lives, young lovers Monika and Harry (Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg) escape to the Swedish seaside for a summer of romance and adventure. However, when Monika finds herself pregnant, the pressures of adulthood begin to rupture their relationship. Ingmar Bergman's Summer With Monika is both refreshing and sobering in equal measures, a coming-of-age story with no happy ending and a final scene that may leave the viewer feeling gutted. With strong performances, especially from Andersson, some beautiful cinematography, a pair of intensely interesting characters, and typically sure-handed direction, Summer With Monika is arguably Bergman's first masterpiece.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

Full Review

Jay S

"You're different from all the others you're just like someone in a film." Such a beautiful film by Ingmar Bergman. All I want is a piece of what they have! This is my first film I've seen in his filmography and I can't wait to see more.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/18/23

Full Review

Christopher B

Dealing with many themes closely related to his previous film "Summer Interlude" and taking place during Summer as well, "Summer with Monika" has a drastically different feel and ending to it. Sharply written, wonderfully acted and featuring beautiful shots throughout the entirety of the film all add up to a cohesive and poignant work of art! We follow a girl named Monika and her summer spent with a man named Harry escaping the adult world filled with responsibilities and hardships for a relaxing escape into their own world with one another. As the summer comes to an end however, things start to come back into perspective and the happiness abruptly ends and Monika who has grown bored eventually finds someone else. Harry takes their child out of the filth and uncaring ways of Monika in order to have a better life for the child's sake as Monika lives on in her empathy and lack of willingness to try or for that matter even care. This is a simple film that remains incredibly powerful to this day and is yet again another stunning film in Bergman's impeccable canon!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/03/22

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the most straightforward (and least interesting) of the Bergman films I've seen, a drama which chronicles a love affair between a pair of runaway teens across the course of the summer. Little more than a coming of age story, but of course beautiful as Bergman films are wont to be.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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Ingmar Bergman

Director

Harriet Andersson

Monika

Lars Ekborg

Harry

John Harryson

Lelle

Georg Skarstedt

Harry's father

Dagmar Ebbesen

Harry's aunt

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Synopsis

Disillusioned young city-dweller Harry (Lars Ekborg) is frustrated with his societal responsibilities and his menial job, but when he meets sultry beauty Monika (Harriet Andersson), and she takes an interest in him, life takes on new meaning. Inflamed with passion, the lovers steal Harry's father's boat and give up their banal city life for an erotic summer spent on an island. There, Monika teaches Harry to give up his inhibitions, and all is good -- until Monika's true nature is revealed.

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Producer: Allan Ekelund
Screenwriter: Per Anders Fogelström
Production Co: Svensk Filmindustri
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Swedish
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m

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