Sons of Ingmar

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Audience Member Sons of Ingmar of Ingmar Review On 13th of December, the Cambridge Film Consortium invited us to the view a rare 35mm screening of 'Sons of Ingmar' written and directed, written by Victor Sjöstromöm and there was a live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney. The film itself was amazing to watch as I found the narrative was easy to follow and was very well done. It was the first silent film I've seen the whole way through and I thought it was a great film and was surprised at how good it actually was and I would now happily go and watch another silent film after watching Sons of Ingmar. Sons of Ingmar follows a descendent of a long line of Ingmar' and the films starts off with him at a dilemma and wanting his father's help as his wife to be had been put in prison three years earlier after killing their child. The visual aspect of the film was amazing as Victor Sjöstromöm, was particular to use natural locations instead of sets built on the a sound stage, which was and that added a lot to feel of the film as you felt that how alone Ingmar and his wife felt as well as adding to the story line as you felt that the community was quite close and that it was a integral part of life. In the beginning of the film, (Sjöstromöm) Ingmar, goes up a ladder to heaven to visit his father and his ancestors to ask for his father's advice. I thought it was a interesting effect and would love to know how exactly did they film it. Another thing that caught my interest was the fact the version we watched was roughly 2 hours long, while we were told that there had been extra 87 minutes that were missing from this version. This caught my attention as I thought the film as story was complete and felt that there was nothing obviously was missing from film so that made me wondered what happened in those 87 minutes that that got cut out. All of this was emphasised by the amazing and almost unbelievable piano by John as he would watch the screen and would play whatever he thought fit the mood within the film. It was a incredible experience as I know that whenever I decide to watch Sons of Ingmar, I know that the music will be completely different from this experience. I also amazed that he managed to keep on playing for so long as the film was roughly two hours long. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The initial concept of 'Sons of Ingmar' is a fascinating one. A silent Scandinavian film shot nearly one hundred years ago, the cast and crew consisting of many people who are now long gone. It is surreal and extraordinary to say the leas,t and this suits many of the film's scenes perfectly. The cinematography and surrealism is of a quality that is way ahead of its time, similar to that of David Lynch's 'Eraserhead,' a particular example being a peculiar opening scene in which our lead character climbs a set of stairs to heaven. Shot in stunning black and white this makes for a scene that is both baffling and memorable, the frames similar to an abnormal surrealist painting. However what the film makes up for in cinematography and imagery it lacks in story and narrative. 'Sons of Ingmar,' based off of Selma Lagerlöf's novel 'Jerusalem' follows the structure of a traditional morality tale based on one man's responsibility, his objective of moving forward with his life and his attempts at marrying the troubled Brita. The story, though dramatic at the time, merely appears as farce to a modern audience. The characters and their actions within the narrative being overblown and similar to that of a Jane Austin novel with performances reminding one of traditional Shakespearean melodrama, can only create the impression that this is a film for an audience of another time. This is most evident in the character Brita, the main female character who is only ever perceived as a weak victim, a representation of women that has since been forgotten and overshadowed by much stronger and memorable ones. This communicates the main flaw in the film; though the imagery and cinematography is often exceptional for the time, the story is one that can only be admired as a piece of film history as opposed to being enjoyed as entertainment. For this reason film buffs and historians should be advised to view it but the average viewer should stay away. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Sons of Ingmar

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