Crisis (1946)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Film Review

'A bona fide fiasco' was how Ingmar Bergman described his directorial debut.  Sweden's leading film production company Svensk Filmindustri commissioned him to direct Crisis on the strength of his screenplay for Torment (1944), a popular film which amply demonstrated Bergman's skill as a writer.  Previously, Bergman had had some experience of directing stage plays and was chafing at the bit to start directing films.

For the man who was destined to be recognised as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, it was hardly the most auspicious of beginnings. Bergman accepted a little too eagerly the poisoned chalice of adapting a stodgy play (The Mother Animal) by the Danish writer Leck Fischer.   Although Bergman managed to make some changes to the play (most notably the inclusion of Jack, the most interesting character in the film), the story remained very much an old-fashioned and rather laboured melodrama, marred by laughably superficial characterisation and some very clumsy 1940s moralising.

However, the main difficulty the 26-year old Bergman encountered whilst making this film was his own highly volatile temperament.  His lack of experience and unwillingness to trust others who knew their craft better than he did resulted in bad working relationships with almost his entire cast and crew.   Bergman succeeded in alienating himself to such a degree that the production came close to being aborted.  The great Swedish cineaste Victor Sjöström was brought on board to keep Bergman in line, offering friendly advice and serving as his supervisor/mentor.  Bergman was so grateful to Sjöström that he later gave him a part in one of his early films, To Joy (1950), and then the lead role in Wild Strawberries (1957).

In view of the obstacles Bergman faced in making this film, it's surprising that it stands up as well as it does.  The banality of the subject didn't seem to dampen the director's enthusiasm for experimentation, and the film does indeed reveal a director with considerable talent.  The beautifully atmospheric scenes set in the Swedish capital in the second half of the film show the influence of American film noir and French poetic realism.  Bergman's flair for innovative expression surfaces several times in the course of the film, most memorably in a skilfully composed dream sequence (a recurring motif in his subsequent work).

Whilst there are some touches of brilliance, the film's deficiencies are all too noticeable.  The generally uninspired camerawork and stilted acting performances make the film look less like a work of cinema and more like an unimaginatively shot repertory stage play.  The insubstantial storyline seems to drift with no clear focus and closes with a painfully contrived ending.  It's hardly surprising that the film was both a commercial and critical failure - it deserved no better.

The losses incurred by this film prompted Svensk Filmindustri to cancel Bergman's next project Sentimental Journey (which would later be made as Summer Interlude), and could well have cut short Bergman's filmmaking career.  Fortunately, independent film producer Lorens Marmstedt did see Bergman's potential and immediately invited him to direct It Rains on our Love, a far more attractive prospect than Crisis .  The rest, as they say, is history.

Film Synopsis

18-year old Nelly lives an idyllic life with her adopted mother Ingeborg in a small provincial town.  One fateful day, her real mother, Jenny, appears, with the intention of taking her back to Stockholm.  At the town ball, Nelly succumbs to the charms of Jenny's erstwhile lover, Jack, who is a much more exciting proposition than her current suitor, Ulf.  After a humiliating showdown between Jack and Ulf, Nelly accepts Jenny's offer of a job in her Stockholm beauty salon.  It isn't long before she realises the tragic consequences of her decision...