jklugman Blog

Under discussion:

Sunrise  (1927)

Intermezzo  (1936)

Intermezzo is famous for being the first film where Ingrid Bergman had a starring role.  It is also a very mediocre film; I cannot imagine that it would live on today in VHS and DVD releases if Ingrid Bergman had not become a famous film performer.

The film is about a famous violinist (Gösta Ekman) in Stockholm who falls in love with a up-and-coming pianist (Bergman).  He leaves his wife and children to have an affair with her as they travel around Europe.  Both Bergman and Ekman begin to have second doubts about their affair; ultimately Bergman goes to study in France and Ekman returns to his wife and children.  Ekman and his wife reunite, their relationship strengthened after going through a traumatic and life-threatning experience.

This is a very conventional story, with a conventional moral, and is shot in a very conventional way.  Visually the film is pretty forgettable.  The most memorable shot is early on in the film, when Ekman and Bergman face each other while walking at night in Stockholm.  The corner of a large building sticks out prominently in the background, as if it represents some kind of barrier or line between the two.  Ekman's acting is pretty stiff and it is hard to believe that Bergman's character would fall so deeply in love with such a drip.  The film comes off as very preachy, trying hard to extol the virtues of family life (I've seen another one of Bergman's 1930s Swedish films--Walpurgis Nights--and it too has a very preachy, pro-family tone).

What is really striking to me is that Intermezzo's dramatic arc is similar to a F. W. Murnau's Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, made in 1927 in the United States.  Sunrise is also about a wayward husband who gets disenchanted with married life, is tempted by another woman, nearly wrecks his relationship with his wife, but the couple reconcile and their relationship ends up being stronger after going through a traumatic experience.  But Sunrise is so, so much better than Intermezzo.  Murnau creates a dream-like vision that gives the story a sense of being a universal fable.  Murnau is talking about the human condition.  Gustaf Molander (the director of Intermezzo) is giving the family values crowd a soap opera.  

I am no classical music expert (or enthusiast) but since Intermezzo is about a violinist and a pianist, music does play a significant role in the film, and I found it utterly non-compelling.  Timothy Brock's score for Sunrise (available on the DVD)  contributes to its bittersweet and reflective tone.

Under discussion:

For Whom the Bell Tolls  (1943)

For Whom the Bell Tolls has an interesting story which the synopsis here does not do justice.  Gary Cooper and the guerilla band he's allied with realize that the chances of successfully bombing the bridge without sacrificing their own lives are diminishing with every setback, and Cooper has to deal with the tension between following his duty to the Spanish Republic and his romance with Maria.

Unfortunately, the film can't live up to this story.  While Cooper's character has found a new purpose and source of joy in his relationship with Maria, Cooper plays him like Captain America, and there is no question he will follow his orders, even if it means his death.  The one scene that had the most emotional impact for me (where some trapped guerillas lure an arrogant Nationalist officer out so they can kill him) did not involve Cooper or Bergman at all. 

The dialogue is corny--I especially winced at Ingrid Bergman's lines, where she talks about how much she loves Robert Jordan and how much she can't wait to take care of him, etc. etc.  I really hope this came from the screenwriter and not Hemingway.

 In short, even though the Spanish Republic and the lives of  Cooper's and Bergman's characters are in extreme danger, the acting and dialogue prevented me from really caring.  

 The score by Victor Young was also fairly repetitive and obtrusive.  It felt as if the filmmakers were desperately pleading with the audience to feel sad for the Republican guerrillas.

In other regards the film is competently done, for its time period.  The production values are excellent, so for the most part I could buy that Jordan was in mountainous Spain.  None of the people playing the Spanish guerillas were actually Spanish, but that didn't bother me.