Sawdust and Tinsel

I prefer this to most of Bergman's later fare, more acclaimed and more discussed, like "Seventh Seal" or "Persona" or "Autumn Sonata".

Whilst all of Bergman's work (that I've seen) is melodramatic, including this film, "Sawdust and Tinsel" is able to not only agonize over the inherent tragedy of the human condition, but to also laugh at it in near equal measure. As many of the great films ("Paper Moon", "Inside Llewyn Davis", "High and Low" and "The Bad Sleep Well", "In Bruges", Kaurismäki's work and Ozu's, etc...) have demonstrated, not only are tragedy and comedy by their modern definitions not mutually exclusive, but oft most striking when in tandem.

This is a great film, as intelligent as it is entertaining - arguably one of Bergman's best and among his most accessible, yet sadly underrated and largely forgotten.

I prefer this to most of Bergman's later fare, more acclaimed and more discussed, like "Seventh Seal" or "Persona" or "Autumn Sonata".

Whilst all of Bergman's work (that I've seen) is melodramatic, including this film, "Sawdust and Tinsel" is able to not only agonize over the inherent tragedy of the human condition, but to also laugh at it in near equal measure. As many of the great films ("Paper Moon", "Inside Llewyn Davis", "High and Low" and "The Bad Sleep Well", "In Bruges", Kaurismäki's work and Ozu's, etc...) have demonstrated, not only are tragedy and comedy by their modern definitions not mutually exclusive, but oft most striking when in tandem.

This is a great film, as intelligent as it is entertaining - arguably one of Bergman's best and among his most accessible, yet sadly underrated and largely forgotten.

82
Ingmar Bergman Deep Dive Pt. 2

This film was...something, for sure. I do really like seeing circuses being shown in film, I really think it can provide some interesting themes, and this film did just that. If humiliation were a film, this probably would be it. This director got cheated on, figured it out, then was heckled at by the person that did it, and the heckle was the man telling the director that the girl cheated. Then, he got beat up in front of his audience? Goodness, it was a wild ride. It wasn't an extraordinary film by any means, but its early Bergman and I can see him refining his craft, bit by bit.

82
Ingmar Bergman Deep Dive Pt. 2

This film was...something, for sure. I do really like seeing circuses being shown in film, I really think it can provide some interesting themes, and this film did just that. If humiliation were a film, this probably would be it. This director got cheated on, figured it out, then was heckled at by the person that did it, and the heckle was the man telling the director that the girl cheated. Then, he got beat up in front of his audience? Goodness, it was a wild ride. It wasn't an extraordinary film by any means, but its early Bergman and I can see him refining his craft, bit by bit.

Ah dude this really didn’t do it for me 
I think I’m set to have an even more odd relationship with Bergman’s stuff from her on out 
So hit or miss for me it’s ridiculous 
While there’s a load of interesting stuff proposed and offered up here none of it felt belief in itself for me
Anything I could say is gna fall flat tho 
I can see how someone could get a lot more out of this, so it’s one of those frustrating mismatches I think 
Sometimes it just comes down to that 
And that’s cool 
Just a shame 
That said some choices made here do feel fundamentally off and hold this back from something truly special 
A lot could’ve risen above that tho had it just been better 
Wish I had the patience right now to figure out the nitty gritty of what that might be, but I’ve got the trust in my gut in my mind in my head that I’ve got a faint idea

Ah dude this really didn’t do it for me 
I think I’m set to have an even more odd relationship with Bergman’s stuff from her on out 
So hit or miss for me it’s ridiculous 
While there’s a load of interesting stuff proposed and offered up here none of it felt belief in itself for me
Anything I could say is gna fall flat tho 
I can see how someone could get a lot more out of this, so it’s one of those frustrating mismatches I think 
Sometimes it just comes down to that 
And that’s cool 
Just a shame 
That said some choices made here do feel fundamentally off and hold this back from something truly special 
A lot could’ve risen above that tho had it just been better 
Wish I had the patience right now to figure out the nitty gritty of what that might be, but I’ve got the trust in my gut in my mind in my head that I’ve got a faint idea

This worked perfectly as a breath of fresh air from my Halloween season binge, I’ll be back to crossing horror classics off my list soon but this was exactly what I needed right now. A very well written romance drama that brought the dreadfulness of early 20th century circus life to the forefront, I’ve only really seen the circus life romanticized on screen so to see such a dark depiction is a stark contrast and one I really enjoyed. It nails the impoverished caravan lifestyle in a similar way to John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath, the actual plot is different but the conflict of the inescapability of their lives because of said poverty is more than relevant in both, and I love how it’s shown more than discussed here, it really makes you believe these people are used to the punches and have been grinding it out in the circus for decades. Moving onto the romance I liked the love triangle situation going on here, calling it a love triangle feels wrong since there were 4 parties involved but you get the point, it isn’t something I typically see in this genre (the triangle is but not this) and the depth it went into only added to my appreciation. The two central characters to the romance plot, Albert and Anne, were played by Åke Grönberg and Harriett Andersson respectively and they were both amazing, Harriett stuck out to me in that first half but Grönberg had some really impressive scenes in the second. Visually it’s exactly what I hoped for and expected from Bergman, as usual there’s the elite camera work and the caravan sets looked beautiful. This is only my fourth from him which feels wrong with how much I’ve loved everything I’ve seen, I think I might hit a little phase of watching his work and I couldn’t be more excited. It may not be as striking as Persona, as warm as Wild Strawberries, or as tense as Autumn Sonata but it’s another fantastic and unique entry into Bergman’s filmography that stands on its own from the others I’ve seen.

This worked perfectly as a breath of fresh air from my Halloween season binge, I’ll be back to crossing horror classics off my list soon but this was exactly what I needed right now. A very well written romance drama that brought the dreadfulness of early 20th century circus life to the forefront, I’ve only really seen the circus life romanticized on screen so to see such a dark depiction is a stark contrast and one I really enjoyed. It nails the impoverished caravan lifestyle in a similar way to John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath, the actual plot is different but the conflict of the inescapability of their lives because of said poverty is more than relevant in both, and I love how it’s shown more than discussed here, it really makes you believe these people are used to the punches and have been grinding it out in the circus for decades. Moving onto the romance I liked the love triangle situation going on here, calling it a love triangle feels wrong since there were 4 parties involved but you get the point, it isn’t something I typically see in this genre (the triangle is but not this) and the depth it went into only added to my appreciation. The two central characters to the romance plot, Albert and Anne, were played by Åke Grönberg and Harriett Andersson respectively and they were both amazing, Harriett stuck out to me in that first half but Grönberg had some really impressive scenes in the second. Visually it’s exactly what I hoped for and expected from Bergman, as usual there’s the elite camera work and the caravan sets looked beautiful. This is only my fourth from him which feels wrong with how much I’ve loved everything I’ve seen, I think I might hit a little phase of watching his work and I couldn’t be more excited. It may not be as striking as Persona, as warm as Wild Strawberries, or as tense as Autumn Sonata but it’s another fantastic and unique entry into Bergman’s filmography that stands on its own from the others I’ve seen.