Cries and Whispers

This is a meditation on dying, mostly symbolic with little exposition, as in many Ingmar Bergman films. Two sisters return home to their manor to take care of a dying sister, along with their long-time maid. I doubt Bergman thought of the film as melodramatic, probably more a thoughtful description of dying, whether corporeally or emotionally, but all the long glances and overwrought expressions can get on your nerves after a while. Besides, these are rich people dying, so already we're not inclined to be sympathetic. (Although it's clear that making it the rich dying serves to enhance the difference between the maid and the sisters.) The repetitious images of how bored and lonely the sister are just doesn't make sense in the time-crunched society I live in. Still, it's affecting in that it's difficult to watch someone die. And it is wondrous in its bleakness. I've only seen a couple other Bergman films, and the last one I enjoyed thoroughly (Wild Strawberries), but I don't remember leaving a film feeling so bereft of hope. The last scene is meant to bolster you, but how can you forget everything you've seen them do and say to each other? It makes you want to give up, and that's not a feeling I like to be left with no matter what form of entertainment I've chosen.

original title: Viskningar och Rop
year: 1972
length: 106 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069467/combined