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Smiles of a Summer Night

Released Dec 26, 1955 1h 48m Comedy List
100% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Early in the 20th century, middle-aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand) and his young wife, Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), have still not consummated their marriage, while Fredrik's son (Bjorn Bjelvenstam) finds himself increasingly attracted to his new stepmother. To make matters worse, Fredrik's old flame Desiree (Eva Dahlbeck) makes a public bet that she can seduce him at a romantic weekend retreat where four couples convene, swapping partners and pairing off in unexpected ways.
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Smiles of a Summer Night

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Bosley Crowther New York Times Who would have thought that august Sweden would be sending us a film comedy as witty and cheerfully candid about the complexities of love as any recent French essay on l'amour? Rated: 4/5 May 20, 2003 Full Review Pauline Kael Kulchur Late in 1955 Ingmar Bergman made a nearly perfect work -- the exquisite carnal comedy Smiles of a Summer Night. Sep 11, 2023 Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending For all that it's a frightfully well-made object, it's breathtakingly light, a breezy whirlwind of human foibles. Rated: 5/5 Jul 28, 2020 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine Ingmar Bergman, the heart-chilling genius of Swedish films, is one of the few writer-directors who can create a sardonic allegory about the emptiness of human existence in the form of a frisky boudoir comedy. Nov 14, 2019 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion An impeccable choreography of vows broken, shuffled and reaffirmed Jul 15, 2012 Full Review Eric Melin Scene-Stealers.com Bergman's classic sparkles with wit and innuendo in a way that most modern romantic comedies can't even come close to. Rated: 3.5/4 May 13, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Alec B It's charming and a lot more insightful than it's plot suggests. Proof that Bergman should have made more romantic comedies. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/03/24 Full Review Matthew B Ingmar Bergman faced the threat that he would not be allowed to make another movie if his next one was not a success. He wrote a comedy based loosely on Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The film had the right result. It went down well internationally as well as nationally. Even the title of the film – Smiles of a Summer Night – suggests something happy and light-hearted. With such a background, one might be forgiven for thinking that Bergman had given in to commercial pressures and made a potboiler to salvage his career. However this is not the case. The tone of Smiles of a Summer Night is lighter than many Bergman films, even down to the light-hearted music that seems to belong in a good-natured farce. However this is a ‘serious comedy', one that is less happy when viewed up close. Even the movie's happy ending is possibly not the end of the story, and may not offer the final resolution to the problems facing the eight central characters. The film is about relationships, but it is really about unsatisfactory relationships and infidelity. The main characters begin the film in the wrong place. They are with the wrong partner; they are chasing the wrong partner; or they are failing to appreciate the virtues of the right partner. The other reason why the action seems unreal is that it contains much artifice. There is a theatre performance in one scene. A character breaks into a song at one point, perhaps causing some expectation that this turn into a musical, but there are no other music numbers in the film. The period setting (at the end of the nineteenth century) adds to the sense that the action is far-removed from our own plane of reality. An important plot point hinges on an entirely fantastical device – a lever that moves a bed from one room to another while playing soft music. That this device is accidentally operated during an abortive suicide attempt is typical of the blend of light and dark shades in the movie. Nonetheless the problems facing the characters are familiar ones. The movie's leading theme is infidelity, a subject about which Bergman knew a lot. He had affairs while he was married, and he felt bad about them. As with many serial cheaters who make works of art, Bergman's treatment of the subject is a strange mixture of guilt and self-justification. Somewhere at the heart of Egerman's womanising is a man who feels lonely and dissatisfied with his life. His humorous sufferings have a melancholic tinge to them. Perhaps the reason why Bergman wishes to mute our condemnation of Egerman's behaviour is because he sees a lot of himself in Egerman – a man with a strong public reputation who seeks comfort in affairs with women to distract him from his own unhappy thoughts. There is something of Bergman in all the men in the film. Henrik is depressed and guilty, and wishes to end his life, the same feelings that Bergman was experiencing when he made Smiles of a Summer Night. Henrik is struggling with religious doubts and his own sinful nature, issues dealt with in a more serious and tragic way in other Bergman films. Count Malcolm is a more satirical version of Bergman – the dominant movie director who seeks to control those around him. Frid is partly what Bergman would like to be – his naked desires uninhibitedly expressed, and without guilt or pain. However Bergman needs his pain, and would not be happy just being Frid. I will leave the last word with Desiree's elderly mother, Mrs Armfeldt (Naima Wifstrand). She tenderly says: "One can never protect a single human being from any kind of suffering. That's what makes me so tremendously weary." I wrote a longer appreciation of Smiles of a Summer Night (with spoilers) on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2019/09/08/smiles-of-a-summer-night-1955/ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/23 Full Review Fra B Bergman was so, so much ahead of his time. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/11/22 Full Review júlio a Filme muito bom, divertido na medida da certa e com temas subjetivos mais profundos para analisar. Adorei mesmo. E Bergman sabe é lidar com cenas sexys sem ser vulgar...caramba. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review dave s Smiles of a Summer Night is Ingmar Bergman's comedy (hey, there's an oxymoron) about the boundaries that define relationships. The film revolves around Fredrik Egermon, a middle-aged lawyer, and his physically strained relationship with his nineteen year-old wife Anne. The film feels a bit slight at times by Bergman standards – there is no existential angst or much in the way of philosophical musings. However, the relationships in the film are interesting and there is some crisp dialogue. It's not the most memorable of Bergman films, but it's pleasant enough to hold some interest. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review william k Lively, witty and civilized comedy of manners is perfectly staged and cast in the sure hands of director Ingmar Bergman; sophisticated entertainment, but maybe a bit dated for a contemporary audience. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Early in the 20th century, middle-aged lawyer Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand) and his young wife, Anne (Ulla Jacobsson), have still not consummated their marriage, while Fredrik's son (Bjorn Bjelvenstam) finds himself increasingly attracted to his new stepmother. To make matters worse, Fredrik's old flame Desiree (Eva Dahlbeck) makes a public bet that she can seduce him at a romantic weekend retreat where four couples convene, swapping partners and pairing off in unexpected ways.
Director
Ingmar Bergman
Producer
Allan Ekelund
Screenwriter
Ingmar Bergman
Distributor
Criterion Collection
Production Co
Svensk Filmindustri
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 26, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 20, 2018
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Mono
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