John Elfström Movies

En Lektion i Kärlek constitutes one of Ingmar Bergman's more overtly entertaining films. In this highly engaging comedy, Bergman reunites Gunnar Bjornstrand and Eva Dahlbeck, who had already teamed to great effect in the final, comic episode of Secrets of Women (1952), and he once again casts them as an amusingly antagonistic husband and wife. Bjornstrand's character, David Erneman, is a successful gynecologist who has jeopardized his sixteen-year marriage by entering into an affair with one of his patients. In retaliation, his wife, Marianne, departs for Copenhagen to revive relations with a former fiancé. David initially seems only slightly disturbed by his wife's action, but when his affair ends and he enjoys an afternoon with his inscrutable daughter (Harriet Andersson, in an especially plucky turn), he determines to embark for Copenhagen and win back his wife. But his initial efforts at a reunion hardly bring him success, and only after a barroom altercation with his brutish rival does David seem to rekindle his wife's affection for him. En Lektion i Kärlek is a pivotal film in the Bergman canon, reviving his fortunes after the critics' rejection of Gycklarnas Afton (Sawdust and Tinsel) (1953) and spurring him toward his comic masterpiece, Sommarnattens Leende (Smiles of a Summer Night) (1955). Bergman came to regard En Lektion i Kärlek as a divertissement, but the film is of a greater magnitude than usual comedies of domestic life, and Bergman concludes it with the endearing image of Cupid strolling past the hotel room of the reunited couple. ~ Les Stone, All Movie Guide

When the subject of the great Swedish films comes up, the title Saltstänk och krutgubbar is seldom invoked. Even so, this "slice of life" comedy pleased the crowd in 1946, and should do the same today. Most of the story takes place on a tiny Swedish island just a few miles from Stockholm, with the amorous adventures of one islander (Sigurd Wallen) setting the plot in motion. The director of photography was newcomer Sven Nykvist, who later achieved international renown for his work in the films of Ingmar Bergman. The English-language title of Saltstänk och krutgubbar is Gay Old Time -- not quite a literal translation, but it will suffice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally released in Sweden as Musik I Morker, Night is My Future is a seminal effort from director Ingmar Bergman. Blinded during a wartime training accident, aspiring-musician Birger Malmstein refuses all efforts by well-meaning outsiders to help him. Malmstein hires Mai Zetterling as his companion and "eyes," though he still fiercely defends his independence. They become closer as both Malmstein and Zetterling learn about new aspects of life from each other. Disappointed in his efforts to make a living as a pianist, Malmstein enrolls in a school for the blind, assuming that Zetterling will be waiting for him when he graduates. Upon learning that Mai already has a boy friend, Malmstein attempts to kill himself. Only when he gets into a fistfight with Zetterling's beau does Malmstein feel as though he's "whole" again. Night is My Future is based on a novel by Dagmar Edqvist; while entertaining, it is frankly an "entertainment," with few of Bergman's distinctive touches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Flickorna I Smaland (The Girls in Smaland) is harmless contrivance predicated on romantic misunderstandings. Farmhand Gunnar Carlman (Ake Gronberg) shocks his rural community when he begins keeping company with wild gypsy girl Emma (Ruth Kasdan). This does not rest well with pretty farm owner Christina Larson (Sickan Carlsson), who's come to believe that she and she alone is Gunnar's sweetheart. Before our hero can prove that he's innocent of extracurricular dalliances, Emma and her gypsy tribe make things worse by stealing a horse from Christina's farm. A couple of musical interludes punctuate this bucolic comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide