Anders Ek Movies

What do you get when you combine a European art film with an American slasher pic? You get this Swedish parody that centers on milque-toast film editor Edward Svensson who is busily working on an arty new European 18th-century costume epic filmed ala Ingmar Bergman in indistinct black and white. Edward leads an orderly life and doesn't mind editing this nearly actionless film. Then his employer orders to have him edit a gory series of slice-n-dicers, Loose Limbs-I-IV. With such an endless onslaught of graphic, senseless violence, degradation, and cheesy sex unspooling before him, Edward begins undergoing a few disturbing changes and when he finally emerges from the summer cottage where he has been working he is psychotic-mutilator-of-nubile-women-and-anyone-else-who-moves Evil Ed. Those with weak stomachs may want to pass on this graphically violent comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The Ritual is an alternate English-language title for Ingmar Bergman's The Rite (Riten). Made for Swedish television in 1969, this short film was Bergman's revenge against those who opposed his management of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. The storyline involves three actors whose recent production has been judged obscene by the powers-that-be. Bergman deliberately obscures the "controversial" quality of the production itself, forcing the viewers to assess their own opinions over what is obscene and what isn't. Intending to shock and provoke his audience, Bergman was appalled that many viewers laughed at The Rite, misinterpreting it as a satirical comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This rich, powerful Ingmar Bergman film charts the frustrations and humiliations of several circus performers. The circus's portly owner, Albert (Ake Gronberg), recalls a humiliating incident involving the company's clown, Frost (Anders Ek), who discovered his wife, Alma (Gudrun Brost), swimming nude before a band of cheering soldiers. Having concluded his recollection, Albert visits his estranged wife, Agda (Annika Tretow), who realizes that he has made little money with his circus endeavor. While Albert endures the humiliating encounter with his wife, his jealous mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson), retaliates by yielding to a seductive local actor, Frans (Hasse Ekman), then realizes that she has been exploited and debased. Later, the drunken Frost informs Albert of Anne's sexual indiscretion, whereupon Albert determines to thrash Anne's cynical lover. In the ensuing altercation, however, Frans manages to thwart Albert's bullish attacks and deliver a series of punishing blows. Beaten and degraded, Albert ponders suicide, then decides to avenge himself on unfaithful women by killing the company's bear, beloved by the provocative Alma, whose betrayal of Frost has so haunted Albert. Following the bear's demise, the company departs to another town. Gycklarnas Afton is full of powerful performances and staggering sequences, including the legendary flashback in which Frost finds his wife cavorting nude before the soldiers. In this scene, played with almost hysterical intensity, Frost, dressed as a clown, tearfully carries his nude wife from the water, past the soldiers, and back to the circus tent. The soundtrack's jarring contrast between sheer silence and a blaring brass band, coupled with the black-and-white cinematography's emphasis on glaring sunlight, generate a mood of considerable tension and unease. This extraordinary scene ranks among Ingmar Bergman's greatest feats and readily establishes Gycklarnas Afton as an unflinching examination of the human condition. ~ Les Stone, Rovi

Popular Swedish director-star Sigurd Wallen is as usual the whole show in Var Herr Luggar Johansson (Johansson Gets Scolded). The title character, played by Wallen, is a small-time businessman with big-time notions. Intending to improve her social status, Mrs. Johansson (Dagmar Ebbeseu) brings nothing but headaches to her husband. Then there's Johansson's son Olle (Anders Ek), who is falsely accused of a crime simply because he can't account for his whereabouts. Adding to Johansson's woes is his garrulous mother-in-law, a staple character in Swedish comedies of the era. Substitute Edgar Kennedy for Sigurd Wallen, and one might be able to glean an amusing 2-reeler out of this limp comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi