From the early period when the later renowned Ingmar Bergman would be directing his own screenplays, this melodrama from the veteran Gustav Molander (most famous for discovering the other Bergman, Ingrid) suffers from the unpleasant writing of the main female character (a poisonous "femme fatale" reminiscent of some of the worst of Hollywood film noir) and an unnecessarily complicated story layout tricked out with flashbacks and narration.
It is competently enough made but leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
6.4Plot summary
Martin and Frida married solely because she was pregnant. Later he would have a passionate side-affair with Rut. Rut's sexual feelings were highly neurotic because she had been sexually abused by her stepfather. When the chimney sweep came, she seduced him and afterward felt dirty and desperate. She found and seduced Martin. From the beginning she interspersed mean attacks. During the war he was drafted, but deserted. He and Rut hired a room by the chimney sweep. Soon Rut seriously stabbed Martin's hand with a fork and they were thrown out. But whatever Rut did, she could always "make it undone" by one word. Eventually they lived at the loft of an empty storehouse. On New Year's Eve Rut went to her mother and stepfather and demanded all cash the latter had. He gave her what was equal to four months salary for an unskilled worker. Martin believed she had got the money by prostitution. He left her and reported himself to the police. Rut promised to revenge herself. Martin was acquitted because a friend testified that he was mentally ill when he deserted. He and Rut reconciled, but she did not forget her promise. She left him when it would hurt most. He tried to kill himself, but was saved.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 950.73 MB
968*720
Swedish 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Not One of Bergman's Better Scripts
Reviewed by
Not just black and white
Pun somewhat intended. With black and white photography you could do a lot with shadows and other things of that nature. There were shades of things and you had to experiment with the lighting ... if you add a character drama to that mix, you can work with that too and really bring forth certain issues or traits you want to .... well highlight.
In this case it is about desire, dreams and love (self and otherwise). Unlike more recent especially teenage orientated stories, where a girl had to choose between two males, this has two women in ... "contest" over one man. But just boiling it down to that would not be fair. Especially considering on the note this ends on. If you are into character development and things between the lines, you will probably really like this ... an oddity I reckon of sorts. But a very good one.
Reviewed by
A forgotten treasure
"Woman Without a Face" is a film Bergman wrote to be directed by Gustaf Molander, the director of the Swedish"Intermezzo," which made Ingrid Bergman an international star. Here you have one of Sweden's greatest actress who made few films but her last role in cinema was Helena Ekdahl in "Fanny and Alexander.". She and Alf Kjellin burn up the screen with their sordid twisted passion as Bergman's script explores the dark side of love and sex. It was made 2 years before "Prison," the film in which Bergman had free artistic control as director for the first time. The two films are almost siblings and share some common themes and situations, except that here everything works to perfection. The character played by Wållgren is solidly written and is certainly one of the most interesting characters he created in his early films. Her performance makes you understand the meaning of the word "riveting," as she obviously takes delight in such a complex character, a "femme fatale," but one who herself is trapped in her own perversion. Kjellin is perfect as the seemilingly well brought up family man who is drawn into Wållgren's carefully spun spiderweb of sado-masochism. This film is an absolutely must-see for anyone interested in Bergman's early years and it is a tragedy that it has not been included in the British or American "complete" box sets of Bergman's work. It's included in the Swedish SFI Bergman box but with subtitles only in Swedish! All Bergman fans need to see this. Perhaps you can watch it holding up a smartphone to translate the dialogue for you.