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The Best Intentions

Play trailer Poster for The Best Intentions 1992 3h 2m Drama Biography Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
In this film about Ingmar Bergman's parents, young Henrik Bergman (Samuel Fröler) is studying for the priesthood and trying to make ends meet when he encounters the lovely, affluent Anna (Pernilla August). Despite their social differences, Henrik and Anna fall in love, wed and move to the country. They lead a quiet life as Henrik works as a clergyman, but it isn't long before the simple people and plain surroundings make Anna long for a more lavish lifestyle, which causes marital stress.

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
Anthony Lane Independent (UK) By the end, we no longer know why characters are choosing to leave or stay, live or die. Even more depressingly, the director follows suit, allowing scenes to ramble on well past their bedtime, and the film loses its grip. Jan 4, 2018 Full Review Peter Travers Rolling Stone August keeps a discreet distance from the harsher realities, making The Best Intentions must viewing only if you find diluted Bergman better than no Bergman at all. Nov 20, 2017 Full Review Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Though the level of acting is uniformly quite high, the true star of The Best Intentions is Bergman's script. Nov 20, 2017 Full Review Joanne Kaufman People Magazine Throughout, Bergman sets up a series of vivid, literate confrontations involving Frler, August and other articulated characters. Director August stages these tense, intimate, emotional wrestling matches with naturalistic fervor. Nov 20, 2017 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Though Bergman only wrote (but didn't direct), the film is permeated with his unique angst and thematic concerns, and casting Pernilla August in a major role establishes strong link to Fanny and Alexander, in which she played the servant. Rated: B+ Dec 21, 2005 Full Review TV Guide A deeply satisfying film. Rated: 4/5 Jul 30, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (14) audience reviews
Audience Member Puntaje Original: 4.0 Escribe los diálogos mas ridículamente cursis que puedas crear, no te olvides de no darle suficiente espacio de desarrollo a la narración de eventos, básate en la vida de un líder religioso sin ninguna personalidad interesante y hazlo enamorarse de una adinerada niña estúpida sin la menor perspectiva de la vida. Ahora adáptalo a una película...¡Felicitaciones!, acabes de ganar una Palma de Oro. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Puntaje Original: 4.0 Escribe los diálogos mas ridículamente cursis que puedas crear, no te olvides de no darle suficiente espacio de desarrollo a la narración de eventos, básate en la vida de un líder religioso sin ninguna personalidad interesante y hazlo enamorarse de una adinerada niña estúpida sin la menor perspectiva de la vida. Ahora adáptalo a una película...¡Felicitaciones!, acabes de ganar una Palma de Oro. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member After he officially retired from directing, Ingmar Bergman wrote this screenplay about his parents ... their meeting, marriage and early life together. Billie August, straight from "Pelle the Conqueror" with Max Von Sydow, was chosen to direct. Von Sydow appears as Bergman's maternal grandfather. August's wife Pernilla stars as Bergman's mother Anna. The couple come from very different socio-economic backgrounds, so both families oppose the marriage. Anna is advantaged and somewhat spoiled, so she has difficulty adjusting to a life as the wife of a rural preacher. Bergman's father Henrik comes from a background of extreme poverty and nurses a deep hurt that lashes out at others when conflict arises. The version I watched is the 3 hour feature, edited down from 5 1/2 hour version originally aired on Swedish television. Everything about this is top notch, from the performances to the production design to the direction. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member ?? ????? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ?????? " ?? ?????? ??? ???? " ? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? :)) Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member La ví por primera vez hace 10 años atrás... Creo que de las 3 horas que dura, yo empecé a llorisquear a la hora y media... o sea que fue re molesto ver la película al lado mío. Una de mis películas preferidas de todos los tiempos, no sé por qué me olvidé de agregarla antes a la lista. Perfecta, intensa, profunda, terrible... Como dice la sinopsis de arriba, la historia de los padres de Ingmar Bergman... siempre sentí que Bergman aprendió a entender y perdonar los errores de sus no tan perfectos padres a través de ésta película, por eso éste guión me parecío un ejercicio de perdón y de entendimiento (dos de las cosas más difíciles que les toca hacer a los seres humanos). Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Good Palme D'Or winner written by Ingmar Bergman based on his parents and how they got together. It's a long film, and the first half is pretty slow, it takes too much time showing how their relationship began. But the acting makes up for the slow parts, especially from Max Von Sydow who makes a small appearance, so I didn't mind so much. The second half is much better when the couple try to settle in and start their life together. I wish there was more story involving the young boy Petrus, those scenes were very interesting and the best moments of the film. The ending is also very good. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Best Intentions

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this film about Ingmar Bergman's parents, young Henrik Bergman (Samuel Fröler) is studying for the priesthood and trying to make ends meet when he encounters the lovely, affluent Anna (Pernilla August). Despite their social differences, Henrik and Anna fall in love, wed and move to the country. They lead a quiet life as Henrik works as a clergyman, but it isn't long before the simple people and plain surroundings make Anna long for a more lavish lifestyle, which causes marital stress.
Director
Bille August
Producer
Ingrid Dahlberg
Screenwriter
Ingmar Bergman
Production Co
SVT Drama, Yleisradio, Danmarks Radio
Genre
Drama, Biography, Romance
Original Language
Swedish
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.2M
Runtime
3h 2m