228 - The Making of Autumn Sonata, 1978, Sweden. Dir. Arne Carlsson.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

228 - The Making of Autumn Sonata, 1978, Sweden.  Dir. Arne Carlsson.

Here we have a true behind-the-scenes documentary.

Not a made-for-TV fluff piece.

No narrator.  No interviews for our camera.  No excessive cutting.

Just a camera sitting in the background observing the process without interrupting and without trying to make it interesting to us.

Arne Carlsson knows how to stay out of the way.  And he allows things to unfold naturally and organically.

Thank you, Arne.

Arne Carlsson was the AD on Cries & Whispers and the Still Photographer on Autumn Sonata.  Well, clearly he was also the BTS (Behind-the-Scenes) Director on Autumn Sonata, but he was credited for his work as the Still Photographer.  He performed the same two jobs on Bergman's next project, Fanny and Alexander, and he shot Marie Nyrod's 2004 documentary of Bergman, Bergman Island.

The film observes the first meeting of the actors, their table read, a couple of rehearsals, the piano lesson, make-up and costume tests, the dress rehearsal, working on the set, Day One, two press conferences, several days of shooting, and some of their down time.

During the set-ups we see Bergman discussing the set with his Production Designer Anna Asp, detailing the layout of the room, including windows, chairs, rugs, and bookshelves.  We also see members of the Art Department constructing walls, installing a troublesome shower head, and painting the floors.

We see members of the G&E (Grip and Electric) departments carrying equipment and setting up lights.

We see filming on Days 9, 16, 18, 23, 28, 29, 35, 42, 43, 49, and 50.

And what stands out for us is relationships.

Ingmar Bergman's relationship with Ingrid Bergman.  They are unrelated.  His wife at the time is also named Ingrid Bergman, but this is the actress.  She enters fully prepared, which is great, but she has her own vision that will have to conform to the Director's.  She questions him.  He defends his choices.  She adjusts.

Ingmar Bergman's relationship with Liv Ullmann.  This is something.  He is now married to Ingrid, but he and Liv were together for awhile.  They have made many movies together.  They have a daughter, Linn.  She is acting in this movie, and she is here.  And they continue to work together in harmony and good will.

Ingmar Bergman's relationship with Sven Nykvist.  This is great to watch.  If you work in the film industry, you love to see this, and you may experience it.  Bergman tells Nykvist where he wants a light set up, and we see Nykvist already halfway there.  It happens more than once.  They even comment that they read each other's minds.

What is also fascinating is how they discuss the lighting scheme ahead of time.  They have worked so much together that they can dial up a lighting scheme from a previous movie.

Here is a conversation they have at the table read with Liv in there with them.

An hour has passed. . . . Now it's dawn.  Not just any dawn.
An  Hour of the Wolf dawn?
More of a Cries and Whispers dawn.
We've made so many films together; this is number 19.
We only need to name the film and everyone knows what kind of dawn.

Ingmar Bergman's relationship with his daughter Linn Ullmann.  He shows her the blocking.  He discusses the scene.  He directs her emotions.  He is tender and gentle with her.  Autumn Sonata is a film about a great artist who neglected her children, and Bergman has expressed that feeling of guilt in several of his films.  But here in this moment he seems close to Linn.  They are working together, and he is sweet to her.  He brings her back to make sure she does not mash her finger in the door jam, which he has done previously.  He wants to ensure she does not get hurt.

Ingmar Bergman's relationship with the press.  During the press conferences and interviews he seems open and amenable.  He wants to get closer to them.  When they are on stage he moves his group's chairs forward.  Then he invites the members of the press on the floor to move their chairs all  the way up to the edge of the stage.  He wishes he could sit on the floor with them.  He answers their questions with humor and ease.  Later, when another group of reporters are interviewing him and Liv out in a field, he relaxes and answers their questions openly and freely as well.

We do get a few moments where we get to see some of the artistry of Sven Nykvist's lighting set-ups. We wish we could see more of those.  There is a shot of Ingrid Bergman sitting on the couch, and light is blasting into the room from behind her and to her left.  It makes its way past three 4'x4' white bounce boards--what would be the equivalent of bead board used today--before it lands softly on her face.  We want to know more of these secrets!

This documentary invites us to appreciate Bergman's greatness even more.  We see him always relaxed, always in command, and always communicating with his team.  Even in the potentially tense moments--when the newly arrived Ingrid questions the choices in his script (something seldom done by his actors), when he asks Anna Asp why there are two windows there and why those chairs, when the shower head refuses to cooperate--in all these moments he responds with grace and with a smile.

And that smile is one of the big takeaways.

For a filmmaker known for his seriousness, for his philosophical wrestling, for his questioning of God, for his treatment of betrayal and heartache, for his willingness to plumb the depths of human suffering and despair--

When he is making a movie, he sure does seem to be having a great time.