BUY TICKETS

PERSONA Aug. 4, 7
1966. 85 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Sony Pictures.
The inspiration for David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, this breakthrough film represented a turning point not only in Bergman's career, but also in the history of cinema. With Liv Ullmann in the role of an inscrutable actress who has willed herself mute and Bibi Andersson as her dutiful nurse, this sensuous portrait of two women in a state of psychic dissolution is a bold cinematic masterpiece.
Aug. 7 at 7:00: Reel Talk with Ara Osterweil
This event is free for JBFC Members at the box office on a first-come, first-served basis. Membership ticket limitations apply.

CRIES AND WHISPERS Aug. 5, 8
New 35mm Print!
1972. 106 min. R. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
Two women return to their childhood home to bid farewell to their dying sister, only to recoil selfishly from the devastating effects of her illness. In this contemplation of death, deception, and sibling rivalry, Bergman probes the psyche with shattering precision. Saturated with red, this masterpiece is one of the director's most visually and emotionally startling works.

AUTUMN SONATA Aug. 5, *9
New 35mm Print!
1978. 99 min. PG. France/West Germany/Sweden, in Swedish/English with subtitles. Janus Films.
In her only collaboration with the director, the legendary Ingrid Bergman (no relation) plays a world-renowned pianist who - after a lifetime of neglecting her maternal duties to advance her artistic career - is forced to confront her two adult daughters during a rare autumnal visit. Tension, resentment, and frustration mount until an unforgettable exchange releases a deluge of inconsolable heartache and anger.
*Please Note: There will be no Reel Talk following the 7:15 screening on Aug. 9 due to a schedule conflict.

FANNY AND ALEXANDER Aug. 6
New 35mm Print!
1982. 188 min. R. Sweden/France/West Germany, in Swedish and other languages with subtitles. Janus Films.
This exuberant, gorgeously shot film is the magnum opus of the century's most enduring cinematic giant. Set in a Swedish town circa 1907, and based substantially on the director's childhood, Fanny and Alexander lays out the paradise and purgatory of Bergman's psycho-esthetic coming-of-age like an opulent banquet fit for cinematic gods, ghosts, and monsters. Don't miss the chance to see this luscious film on the silver screen.

WILD STRAWBERRIES Aug. 11, 15
New 35mm Print!
1957. 91 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
In the heyday of international Bergmania, no self-respecting cinephile would have missed the classic double bill of Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal. Bergman's beloved meditation on aging is embodied by famed silent film director Victor Sjöström portraying a 70-year old professor caught between the barely suppressed dreamscapes of childhood and the increasingly unmanageable realities of daily life. This tender look at mortality, memory, and the redemptive power of change remains essential viewing.

THE PASSION OF ANNA Aug. 12, 14
1969. 101 min. R. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Sony Pictures.
When a mysterious widow (Ullmann) has an affair with a reticent loner (Max von Sydow), their lives become haunted by her late husband's ambiguous suicide note and a spate of animal killings in their community. In their first true color film together, Bergman and his famed cinematographer Sven Nykvist set out to break all established rules; the result is a vivid, experimental vision of psychological turmoil.

SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT Aug. 12, 16
1955. 108 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
Yes, it's true; before Bergman surrendered to bleakness, he was actually funny. In this erotic comedy of errors, three mismatched couples convene for a weekend to flirt, feud, and frolic under the sultry grin of the summer sky. Though wives cuckold their husbands, the pious turn profane, and sons betray their fathers, in a midsummer night's sex romp all's well that ends well.

One By Liv Ullman
FAITHLESS Sun., Aug. 13
Liv Ullmann. 2000. 142 min. Sweden/other countries, in Swedish/French with subtitles. IDP Films.
What does Bergman's world look like when seen not only through a woman's eyes but from the perspective of his supremely talented muse? Scripted by Bergman, but directed by his longtime collaborator, former lover, and inspired star Liv Ullmann, Faithless examines the irrational nature of infatuation and the irreparable damage caused by adultery, matters that plagued the master's own personal life.

SHAME Aug. 17
1968. 103 min. R. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Sony Pictures.
Made during the Vietnam conflict and set on a secluded island in a land ravished by civil war, Shame is one of Bergman's few overtly political films. Mining the interface between the outer violence of war and the inner violence of emotional trauma, Bergman's harrowing study of the transformation of an apolitical bohemian couple (Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow) into ruthless survivors is at once a universal elegy for war's victims and a scathing critique of human nature.

Shame is also showing late-nights Aug. 11 - 17, as part of the "After the Apocalypse" series.

THE SEVENTH SEAL Aug. 18, 22
1957. 96 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
One of the eternal classics of cinema, this story about a knight who challenges Death to a chess game after a decade of battling in the Crusades took the world's breath away when it was originally released. "The Seventh Seal swept like a forest fire across the world," Bergman remembers. "I was met with strong responses from people who felt that the movie struck right at their own inner doubts and agony." Half a century later, his stunning existential allegory about the human search for meaning resonates just as deeply.

MONIKA Aug. 19, 21
1953. 96 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
Starring 18-year old Harriet Andersson as its precocious heroine, Monika (also known as Summer with Monika) helped establish Sweden's vanguard position in the sexual liberation of cinema. While the film's blissful sensuality seems innocent today, this story of a doomed romantic interlude between two alienated teenagers attracted the wrath of the censors for its naturalistic depiction of premarital procreation.

THE VIRGIN SPRING Aug. 19, 23
New 35mm Print!
1960. 89 min. NR. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
In a world torn between paganism and Christianity, the rape and brutal murder of a young girl sends her peasant parents reeling from incomprehension to revenge to self-hatred. By focusing on the aftereffects of horrific violence, this spellbinding fable transcends its medieval milieu to become a haunting, symbol-laden meditation on lost innocence and the renegade possibility of salvation.

Special One-Time Screening
SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE
Sun., Aug. 20 at 1:00
1973. 299 min. PG. Sweden, in Swedish with subtitles. Janus Films.
This epic, revelatory study of the heartbreaking relationship between Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johan (Erland Josephson) is probably the most truthful depiction of marital love and loss that you will ever see. As their seemingly flawless marriage slips into the depths of cruelty, betrayal, and divorce, what emerges is a luminous portrait of the boundlessness of human intimacy. This precursor to Bergman's Saraband is captivating for all of its five hours (though it might not be the ideal choice for a first date!).