Gudrun Brost Movies

Unrealistic characters and dialogue bury this attempt at glorifying the poetic soul of one woman (Ami Rolder) as she runs around helping others achieve their dreams and runs away from and back to and away from her husband. Parents should take note that the fairy-tale woman is not always dressed, and her intimate relationship with her husband is frankly expressed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The Hour of the Wolf (original Swedish title: Vargtimmen) is Ingmar Bergman's spin on the demons that plague his fellow creative artists. Max von Sydow plays a painter who, while spending a summer in seclusion with his pregnant wife Liv Ullmann, is visited by bizarre and disturbing visions. Before long, Ullmann is also experiencing her husband's hallucinations; one of these, an old, faceless woman, advises Ullmann to read Von Sydow's diary. Doing so, Ullmann discovers that her husband has been cheating on her with Ingrid Thulin. In the subsequent domestic squabble, Von Sydow shoots and wounds his wife. The artist's punishment for this behavior is to have his lover, now dead, spring back to life and humiliate him in full view of Ullmann. Hour of the Wolf has something to say about the dangers of artists becoming too self-centered and self-involved; one hopes that most artists are not as thoroughly punished (or punishable) as Max Von Sydow. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on Eyvind Johnson's book Romanen om Olof, Here's Your Life is an epic drama considered a masterpiece in Sweden. Filmed in widescreen with black-and-white and color film stocks, it was released in 1966 in Sweden with a three-hour running time. In 1968, it was cut down considerably for the U.S. release. Set at the turn of the 20th century, Olof Persson (Eddie Axberg) grows up in the small village of Norrland. He tries to escape his hometown and become a writer. Max Von Sydow appears as Smalands-Pelle, a family friend who offers Olof a job. Eventually the young man grows into adulthood and discovers politics, sex, and the cinema. Also starring Gudrun Brost, Bo Wahlstrom, and Gunnar Bjornstrand. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Inspired by a medieval Swedish ballad, Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (Jungfrukallan) begins with a scene of unspeakable brutality and ends with an image of uncommon beauty. 15-year-old Birgitta Peterson, on her way to church to light candles for the Virgin Mary, is raped and murdered by two older men. The men look for shelter at the home of Birgitta's father (Max Von Sydow), who murders the bestial killers in cold blood. When the deed is done, Von Sydow, a deeply religious man, begins to question the efficacy of a God that would allow his daughter's death, then permit so bloody a retribution. Then, a fresh, virgin spring bubbles from the ground where his daughter had been lying a few moments before. Taking this natural phenonenon as a sign from above, Von Sydow vows to erect a church on the spot where Birgitta met her doom. The winner of the "best foreign picture" Academy Award, The Virgin Spring currently exists in several versions of varying lengths; the longest, and most graphic, is the original Swedish cut. Believe it or not, this hauntingly beautiful film served as the basis of The Last House on the Left (1972). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

The English-language title of this rustic Swedish comedy is Lazy Lena and the Blue-Eyed Per. It's a remake of the 1932 film of the same name, which in turn was based on the popular stage play by Ernst Fastbom. The earlier film was a notorious flop, and the remake didn't fare much better. Even the comeback appearance of veteran Scandinavian movie favorite Gudrun Brost did little to improve the box-office chances of this silly story of a gawky girl and her more urbane swain. Even so, Lata Lena etc. boasted the superb cinematography of Sven Nykvist, several years before his legendary collaborations with Ingmar Bergman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Released in America as The Road to Heaven, Himlaspelet is regarded as not only one of director Alf Sjoberg's finest films, but as one of the most impressive achievements of the Swedish cinema. Described by one observer as a Scandanavian Pilgrim's Progress, the story deftly combines nationalism, religious spiritualism and entertainment value in equal portions. The film's framework involves a naïve farm lad who seeks justice from Above after his father is burned as a witch. When he feels that God has failed him, he hardens into a flint-hearted idolator of material gains. After a lifetime of greed and treachery, the now-aged protagonist is given one last chance at redemption-not by God, but by Satan! As the elderly farmer digs through his past misdeeds, Biblical images parade across the screen, all of them eminently appropriate to the situation at hand. It is abundantly clear throughout that Himlaspelet was a source of inspiration for scores of future Swedish filmmakers-notably Ingmar Bergman, whose own The Seventh Seal owes a great deal to the tone and texture of the Sjoberg classic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Swedish June Night didn't get much American play until after its star, Ingrid Bergman, was firmly entrenched in Hollywood. Ingrid plays a small-town girl who becomes romantically involved with fast-and-loose sailor Gunnar Sjoberg. Injured in a shooting accident, the girl can't tell the police-or reveal the extent of her wounds-without revealing her "shameful" relationship with Sjoberg. This soap-operish endeavor was Bergman's final Swedish effort before her move to America. June Night was also distributed as A Night in June, just as if there were actually a difference. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide