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      The Devil's Wanton

      1949 1h 12m Drama List
      Reviews 66% Audience Score 250+ Ratings A writer (Birger Malmsten) terrorized by his lover's (Doris Svedlund) pimp works on a movie about hell on Earth. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (3) Critics Reviews
      Tim Brayton Alternate Ending Both an effort to define the limits of what cinema is, and an attempt to chart a course to transcend those limits. Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 24, 2020 Full Review Laura Bushell Film4 Good for fans of the director but perhaps too heavy going for an afternoon in front of the television. Rated: 3/5 Feb 6, 2018 Full Review TV Guide Unrelentingly bleak, and for fans of Viking anguish only. Rated: 2/4 Aug 29, 2006 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member A fotografia é o ponto alto do filme, mas o elenco é irregular e a montagem um tanto perdida. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Interesting dynamics, not very easy to watch, after reading description I connected some dots, and the idea is good, just it's not straightforward. Definetely there's particular style in Bergman's films, it's hard really to describe it, just how story unfolds, right details, things at the right moment, curious sense of humour and visually well done, I thought lightning was to appreciate. Challenging, yet I think fans will appreciate. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member <a></a> <img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/stills/26221/original.jpg?1297666731" width="240" border="0" /> Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This is an astonishing piece of work proving that Bergman had a clearly defined set of aesthetic ideas from very early in his career. The idea of the silence of god, the meaningless nature of life and consequently (and tragically) of art, the communication blocks dominating most of human relations and the epiphany character of dreams. What distinguishes this movie most is it's very elaborated construction. For its 75 minutes the movie consists of layers upon layers of meaning that tend to make the whole thing cumbersome. Right at the beginning we hear the sound of a gong such as those used sometimes in theaters to mark the introduction to an act. The same sound is heard at the very end when some of the characters presented as making a movie themselves exit the studio after a day's work and the lights go off. This is an intentionally ambiguous construction since we are left to wonder whether everything that's happened is "real" in whatever sense of the word we might look at the whole action. The beginning and ending seem to say that what we are watching should be looked at as a play, but after a couple of minutes of the film that introduce the plot, Bergman's voice is heard narrating not within the film (as it happens with Welles in his movies) but about the film per se similar to what Godard did more than a decade later in Le Mepris. After establishing the setting of the plot Bergman's voice makes room for it's development. Everything appears to go smoothly in terms of plot but the viewer is tempted to consider everything in the key provided at the beginning by one of the characters who talks about making a film that shows what would happen if the devil ruled the world. We are also introduced to a subplot involving the making of a film. This subplot will be used to comment on the main plot and draw the conclusions at the end, before the final gong. And if all of this was not enough, we are also shown parts of the film that is being produced and at one point two of the characters watch a short silent comedy that can be seen as giving clues to the larger picture. The cinematography (before Nykvist) is very well done, especially in a very good dream sequence (even better than the one in Wild Strawberries). And even if the movie as a whole may appear too experimental it still manages to pose a number of problems that not only make it watchable but it is highly recommended for any person who enjoys movies about movies such as Persona, 8 1/2, Le Mepris, , Mulholland Dr. etc. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member A film within a film within a film. And there's another short film within that as well. It's actually quite simply two intertwined stories about a new mother and a divorced couple. These stories are bordered by discussions that take place in a film studio by persons who know the divorced couple and the new mother. The theme in general is the meaninglessness of human relationships and suffering. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member For the first time Bergman makes a film after his own idea and screenplay. Not as good as the movies to come, but his career are getting interesting from now on. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Devil's Wanton

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A writer (Birger Malmsten) terrorized by his lover's (Doris Svedlund) pimp works on a movie about hell on Earth.
      Director
      Ingmar Bergman
      Production Co
      Terrafilm
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Swedish
      Runtime
      1h 12m