I forgot how people have such piercing dialogues in Bergman films. They just come out (in all his films) and say things to each other—things you just don’t see characters in other films saying. And that first scene between Frederik and his old flame (the actress) is one of the most humanity-filled and truth-filled scenes I’ve seen in a while. But the reason you’ve not heard of this Bergman is that not every scene is as good as this one.

The film also just kind of ends abruptly without nearly as much force as it seemed to be leading up to. Overall it just seems as though the film gets caught between comedy and tragedy and its impact suffers for it.

Aesthetics: the film, although shot in attractive high-contrast black and white Swedish film stock, is really mainly about story and character, in contrast to a film like Wild Strawberries or Cries and Whispers, which is both story and visual cinematic bless. This film could just as well be a play.