**** (out of ****)
At the beginning of Ingmar Bergman's Swedish epic, "Fanny & Alexander" (1983) we see a young boy playing with a puppet theater. It has a sign on it that translates into English as "Not For Pleasure Alone". Isn't that the purpose of art? Not to merely entertain us but inform. Art can nourish the soul and become much more than "popcorn entertainment".
Few filmmakers had devoted their careers to making great art the way Bergman did. His career was spent holding a mirror to society, making us confront our ugly truths. He delved deep into the soul of man and asked the tough existential questions - is there a God? What is man's purpose? That was enough for me to refer to him as my favorite filmmaker.
I was a teenager when I had my first Bergman experience. I had already mind up my mind that I was going to become a filmmaker myself. I began to take a serious deep dive into the world of cinema, so I could expose myself to all of the great masters. The first Bergman film I saw was "The Seventh Seal" (1957), arguably his most popular work. When the film was over I said to myself, well, I'll never be able to make something like that! It's amazing how quickly our limitations can be made apparent to us.
When "Fanny & Alexander" was released in the U.S., Bergman had announced he was retiring from filmmaking - after a near four decade career. It was still too soon for retirement.
Originally airing on Swedish television as a five hour mini-series, "Fanny & Alexander" was released in the U.S. theaters as a three hour feature-length film. Not until Criterion released the film on DVD were U.S. audiences able to see both versions. I was mixed about which version I myself should review despite knowing the fact Bergman had preferred the five hour version. In the end I decided on the original theatrical three hour version even though there are small touches I like in the mini-series version.
Going back to the opening sequence with the young boy, whom we come to discover is Alexander (Bertil Guve), we see him hide under a table. The soundtrack is now comprised of the ticking of a clock as it begins to strike on the hour. At that moment Alexander sees a statue come to life. In the five hour version Alexander also sees Death as he drags his scythe against the floor. Suddenly everything quickly evaporates as reality sets in and Alexander sees his grandmother, (Gunn Wallgren, in her last film role).
This sequence is the heart of the film. I believe Bergman foreshadows what the rest of the film will be about in this sequence alone and the themes at play - art, death, fantasy vs reality. Throughout the film we are presented with a world where happiness and sadness seem to go hand and hand. The ominous presence of Death is never too far behind.
It is an interpretation I really haven't come across in many reviews of the movie by "critics" (sheep). As part of his "Great Movies" review, former Chicago Sun-Times critic, Roger Ebert, suggested the movie "may be seen through the prism of children's memories, so that half-understood and half-forgotten events have been reconstructed into a new fable that explains their lives." Vincent Canby, in a glowing review for the New York Times wrote, "Though most of the film is seen through the eyes of Alexander....Mr. Bergman succeeds in blending fact and fantasy in ways that never deny what we in the audience take to be truth."
For a lot of people the elements of childhood is the glue holding Bergman's masterpiece together. I can't deny the movie is in a way about childhood, if for no other reason the main character is a child, but this wasn't the most gripping theme in "Fanny & Alexander" for me. For me it was the clash between joy and sadness, life and death that captured my interests. I think that was Bergman's greater intention.
How else can we interpret the jubilant Christmas gathering that starts off the film and is used to introduce us to all the characters in the Ekdahl family? Within this sequence alone we see characters happy and others sad. Helena sits with an old family friend and lover, Isak (Erland Josephson). Helena tells Isak she feels like crying but quckly can't bring herself to. They then discuss their youth and when they were caught by Helena's husband and they share a laugh. One of the grandchildren sits next to one of the maids at the dinner table and notices she is sad and asks her why. Helena's son, Carl (Borje Ahlstedt) argues with his wife, Lydia (Christina Schollin), presumably because she stopped him from drinking so they wouldn't be late for the Christmas party. Even Helena's other son, theater owner, Oscar (Allan Edwall) when at first seemingly happy, as he is about to give a Christmas speech to his actors, suddenly become melancholy. He talks about the "little world" - the theater - and the big world - reality - and how sometimes the "little world" can help us reflect and understand the "big world". Remember, art is "not for pleasure alone".
The joy of the Christmas gathering is further contrasted by the next large family gathering that occurs. It isn't a spoiler alert to reveal but Oscar suddenly dies, leaving behind his wife, Emillie (Ewa Froling) and their children, Fanny (Pernilla Allwin) and Alexander. Sounds of laughter are now replaced with tears. But this too shall pass as from this sadness comes unexpected joy when Emillie reveals to her children she is going to remarry. She has fallen in love with Bishop Edvard Vergerus (Jan Malmsjo).
Of course the joy of the mother's marriage is not met the same way by Fanny and Alexander. Not only because they miss their father and love him dearly but because the Bishop, like practically all religious people, is very cruel and strict. The relationship between Alexander and the Bishop reflects Bergman's own relationship with his father. In Bergman's autobiography, The Magic Lantern he writes about his father in a less than flattering light. When told his father may be on his death bed, Bergman initially refused to visit his father. He also writes of the beatings and being shut in a cupboard. After a punishment the children - Bergman had a brother and sister - had to ask their father for forgiveness. There is a heartbreaking scene in "Fanny & Alexander" which mirrors incidents like this.
It is around the time of the father's death Alexander begins to conflate fantasy and reality. Both Fanny and Alexander believe they are seeing the ghost of their father. These appearances by the father recall Hamlet, which the father was rehearsing at the theater before having a sudden attack. Alexander though doesn't necessarily "revenge" his father's death. He wouldn't however mind if any danger came to the Bishop. This picks up on other themes in the film - guilt and trauma. We don't believe Oscar has really come back from the dead but clearly it is a coping mechanism for Alexander to deal with the trauma of his father's death.
By the end of the film, I was left with the impression Alexander will forever be haunted by the memories of these experiences. One trauma will simply replace another. From the death of his father to the emergence of the Bishop in his life. Just as there is a dance between life and death and sadness and joy in our life, so too must there be a dance between fantasy and reality in our life. To paraphrase the film, the "little world" must help us confront the "big world". That seems to be the message Ingmar Bergman is leaving us with in "Fanny & Alexander".
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