Wonderful film.

This is a very different film from everything Bergman I’ve seen so far. Supposedly, Smiles of a Summer Night is what cemented Bergman’s success. He was already considered a genius in Sweden, but this film gave him international acclaim and it is this acclaim that allowed him to make The Seventh Seal.

I didn’t like it as much as Wild Strawberries or Seventh Seal. But I’ve been re-watching Bergman films, beginning with his earliest films and this was the first film I felt compelled to watch twice (which has been true of all later Bergman films I’ve seen, too.)

The idea that the lower classes are more “present” works for me. They don’t need to hide behind the masks that the upper classes are required to hide behind. There is a sort of innocence that exists in their willingness to live life that doesn’t exist within those who are trying to maintain an image of being “good” or “worldly” or “religiously pure”.

Fun film!