Fanny and Alexander

Unfortunately couldn’t get very invested. The characters are so organic that it kinda hurt my ability to immerse myself because everything was somewhat expected. A lot of very important things happen but I rarely felt the tension of them… Yes their father died but he’s an oligarch. There’s kinda a void where the critiques should go as it progresses. Very focused on patriarchy but unfocused in terms of their very privileged class. Maybe my expectations of an 80s film adapted to TV are too high or maybe I don’t understand some of the symbols well enough. It’s still a very powerful, dense, and beautiful looking work of art, especially when focused in on the children or someone telling the children a story. The performances from Fanny, Alexander, their grandmother, and their mother are beyond perfect. Bergman’s choice for a conclusion is an incredibly ‘haunting’ and thought-provoking quote about trauma (within context childhood trauma) that I found deeply resonant despite checking out a little around the middle of this gargantuan piece.