The penultimate movie in 100 consecutive movie nights! Only one more to go!
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), dir. Ingmar Bergman, starring Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Gunnar Björnstrand, Harriet Andersson, Jarl Kulle, Margit Carlqvist.
I had planned to watch Bergman’s Persona tonight, but the times being what they are, I decided I needed something more lighthearted and so watched instead a Bergman comedy. Also, the story is set around midsummer’s eve, which is this week, so it seemed like the perfect choice.
Smiles of a Summer Night was a lighthearted film Bergman made to cure himself of depression, and stated later that he was at such a low point “it was either Smiles of a Summer Night or suicide”. The film was such an international hit that Bergman had free rein from Svensk Filmindustri to do what he liked from that point on. (The Seventh Seal appeared just two years after this.)
And yes, it is a comedy! Inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this film went on to inspire Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Set around 1900, a tangled set of unhappy husbands, wives, mistresses, servants and tormented youth are all set straight by very clever, scheming women at a large country house over one midsummer night.
The strength of this comedy is in the female leads, and there is a passel of them – the innocent young wife Anne, the rather frightening Countess, the flirty maid Petra, the ancient mistress of the estate, and, overseeing everything, her daughter the famous actress Desirée. Desirée is the one who schemes to match everyone with the partner best suited to them.
The men in the story, with the exception of the servants and underlings, are not very impressive, and frequently ridiculous: the stuffy lawyer Egerman, his son the over-dramatic, tormented theological student, and the buffoonish military man, Count Magnus – complete with monocle and cigarette holder. While intelligent in their own way, the men are no match for Desirée, who outwits and manipulates them completely. Everyone emerges the winner however, paired off comfortably and happily.
A enjoyable, light comedy. The roles are all impeccably played, the script has great wit and charm, and everybody seems to be having a very good time. A perfect film pick for summer solstice!
