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Smiles of a Summer Night: The Criterion Collection

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Smiles of a Summer Night" is probably a reason why Bergman has made so few comedies. It isn't at all bad, though - I'd give it 9/10 stars for staying entertaining throughout, but had the script--or rather, SOME LINES--been adapted or dramatized a bit, this story could easily have been presented as another one of Bergman's philosophical dramas. Russian roulette, suicide, and adultery (mistresses and wives meeting under social circumstances) are a few things involved - this doesn't sound very much like 1955 comedy ingredients, does it? ...well, my laughs weren't always silent; at times I was highly amused, and I can see how he did pull off something new in cinema with this film, but Bergman certainly has more talent in making movies that can't be presented in their opening as "A romantic comedy". I doubt that this will disappoint any dedicated Bergman fan, though, or that this edition will disappoint any costumer; Criterion always does great restoration jobs.

A bunch of upper class folk spend a weekend together at a country
house. Lots of bed hopping, betrayal, male macho posturing, and female
manipulation ensues.

Never for a second dull, but for me never quite rose to the heights of
Bergman's greatest works either.

Personally I found the Soundheim musical adaptation of this - 'A Little
Night Music' - more moving and human. There's something a bit distanced and
controlling about Bergman's approach which limits our chance to
empathize with these characters. I smiled a lot, but was left wanting
something deeper.

Sort of a fun one-night-stand of a film.

Ingmar Bergman made many films, this one made him.

Although a marvelous achievement in its own right, this matchless comedy of manners, "Smiles Of A Summer Night" stands out as a landmark, recognized by many as such during the past 50 years. Most recently it made the All-TIMES 100 list of best films compiled by renowned film critics Corliss and Schickel for Times Magasine.

As late as in an interview recorded in 2003, Ingmar Bergman agreed to call "Smiles Of A Summer Night" a watershed in his film career. "After its success", he recalled "I had my hands free... I was able to do whatever I wanted to do." Truly enough, he went on to make, in immediate succession, such great films like "The Seventh Seal" and "Wild Strawberries".

And it was only the beginning of what best can be described as Bergmansk phenomenon. "The Virgin Spring", Through A Glass Darkly", "Persona", "Cries and Whispers", "Autumn Sonata", "Fanny and Alexander". One true classic after the other was bestowed upon us by this undisputed grandmaster of the world cinema during the course of his rich, fruitful career.

With superb acting, lively dialog and impeccable cinematography, "Smiles" leaves nothing to be desired. It seems to be a happy story, at least from the audience's point of view.

Still, the director recalls, in his published memoirs, how depressed he was being stuck with the script, how bad he felt during production, and how embarrassed he was to find out about film's great success at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prix. All this was unprecedented for the producers, the Svensk Filmindustri as they responded "like an old lady who never knew to waltz, now suddenly being asked by a variety of cavaliers", to quote Bergman.

This film is perfect -- comedy, drama, you name it. Performances are all tight and Bergman weaves a marvelous tale of how people make fools of themselves at almost all times. They deceive each other and themselves, only wasting large portions of their lives in the process. He is always teaching us a lesson, and I like that in a film. Comic moments abound, however, and the result is uplifting, honest and very real.

The film is touted as his only comedy, however, I would not categorize the film this way. There are deeply felt moments not to be ignored by the viewer. I have seen the film several times and I am very excited that it is now available on DVD. I recommend it highly and I hope that you enjoy it. It is a more than worthy film that satisfies on high ground. It is adult and insightful. Please, do not let this one pass you by if you are at all serious about filmmaking and Bergman's considerable contribution. Let's be grateful for his vast upus.

Ingmar Bergman directed a romantic comedy when he filmed Smiles of a Summer Night that is as playful as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream and is set in a small scale backdrop of Renoir's Rules of the Game (1939). Despite the similarities of other stories Bergman creates a unique comedy that is full of conspiring intrigue as it revolves around a small number of characters at the turn of the century in a small Swedish town.

Fredrik Egerman (Gunnar Björnstrand), a successful middle-aged lawyer and former widower, has remarried with Anne (Ulla Jacobsson) who is at least twenty years younger than him. Fredrik's son, Henrik (Björn Bjelfvenstam), from his previous marriage, is of the same age as Anne and has recently arrived home from completing his theological examinations. Petra, the family maid, flirts with Henrik as he expresses his liking for the opposite sex. As a consequence, Henrik is struggling with an overwhelming inner guilt originating from his incapability to live by his lofty values stemming from his Christian faith. In addition, the prominent actress Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), a previous lover to Fredrik, is performing at the town theater. Fredrik makes nightly visit to Desiree which puts him in harms way as Desiree's current lover, Carl Magnus (Jarl Kulle), a military officer known for his success in duels visits at the same time. However, this is just the beginning for all the predicaments that Fredrik is about to experience.

Smiles of a Summer Night is a well-written comedy with several subplots that drive the main theme, love, forward as it displays Bergman's wide range of story telling. Bergman displays a simple story which becomes complex as the characters are continually dishonest. It is the profound level of deceitfulness in the story that produces intrigue and brings about the comedy. As the final scene fades away in memory, the audience has gone through a first class cinematic experience that will lighten and enlighten those who participated.

I agree that this is not a comedy.And it is not an "easy-to-watch-Bergman" movie.It's get better after a couple times,and it's rewarding like every other Bergman film.Gunnar Björnstrand (the best Bergman actor) stars on the first major international success for the Master Director.I'll give this 5 out of 5...It's Bergman! No other director have this guy's body of work.

Smiles of a Summer Night it's not one of my Top 10 Bergmans,but it's a fine example of 50's European cinema.Bergman said : "a mixture of operetta and comedy".Pauline Keal said : "One of the few classics of carnal comedy." Woody Allen said :"Even Smiles of a Summer Night, which some consider his 'comic masterpiece', is a very charming film, it has a warmth to it.." Enough said.

If you're a fan of Bergman's works about psychological abuse, personal disaster and disintegrating relationships, this film is definitely not for you. But it reaches a hand across to his late work, sharing a kind of sunlit-but-shadowed atmosphere that's both in the physical environment, and in the people he displays. Less stiff than Bergman's other early attempts at humor (The Devil's Stye, for example), the storyline is engaging, the characters interesting and all-too-human; and the outdoors scenes really bring some life to a director who was all too easily stagebound. There are few outright laughs in this film, but a great many smiles and a warm willingness to embrace humanity with all its flaws.

Definitely a film to treasure, and one that bears repeated viewing. I'd put it fairly close to Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal for its success at creating a film with a unique tone and attitude, in which all the parts contribute magnificently to the whole.

This was director Ingmar Bergman's break-through film, the winner of the 1956 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the first of his many internationally acclaimed films. The story is a time honored one, referrencing the same tradition of romantic complications found in Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and Rostand's LA RONDE: every one is either in love with or married to the wrong person.

A famous actress with two very different lovers invites both, their wives, and the son of one lover to her mother's country estate in the hope of sorting out the romantic entanglements to her satisfaction--and the result is considerable charm and unexpectedly dry wit. All the performances are excellent, with Eva Dahlbeck's Desiree a standout, but the real star of this ensemble piece is the unexpectedly witty script. Never quite veering over into broad farce but never sinking into romantic sentimentality, it is a very precisely written tale, and both cast and director make the most of it.

In the face of Bergman's later work, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT may seem rather slight, and indeed both psychology and cinematography is considerably less complex than one expects. Even so, it is very much a Bergman film: the visual style is distinct, and the themes of appearances vs. reality, the inability to correctly interpret another's behavior, and the failure to understand one's self are very much in evidence--only here to comic effect. It is in every way a charming film that Bergman fans will enjoy.

Incidently, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT was successfully translated to the stage as the musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, the score of which includes the famous "Send In The Clowns." Fans of the original film will be interested to compare the two works.

Despite Ingmar Bergman's reputation for darkly serious films, his breakthrough film is a lighthearted comedy about the weird human ways when it comes to love, and relationships. Every scene is delightful, with discourses and puns between men and women talking about love. As well Bergman throws in philosophy even though this film is a comedy.

Fredrik is a lawyer in Sweden at the turn of the century, who lives with a very young wife, and son, as well as a house maid. After Fredrik visits his ex mistress, and has a quarrel with her lover-friend, she invites them, and their family to her mothers estate for a quirky night with quite a few surprises and revelations of everyone's true feelings. As everyone starts to feel helpless with their lovers, the film ends in a great spirit reminiscent of classical comedy.

Anyone who appreciates comedies needs to see this film, as it is a masterpiece of the genre. It won the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prize for Best Comedy, and appeared on numerous Top Ten lists. Bergman masterfully directs scene after scene of humorous insight into the characters, and general humans, odd dealings in love. The characters range from young flirting girls, to serious virtuous Christians. The acting is wonderful as always, from Bergman's team of actors. I recommend this very much. If only someone would release a good DVD of this classic, we all can enjoy it. 5 stars. Check it out.