Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Film Review

One film that stands out in the earlier part of Ingmar Bergman's film career is Sawdust and Tinsel, a bleak yet poignant portrayal of a group of circus folk, a film which touches on themes that would grow to dominate much of the director's later work.  Fundamentally, the film is about the conflict between the opposing forces that afflict human consciousness - the need for peace and security against the need to be free to satisfy one's artistic calling, the desire to settle down against the wish to travel aimlessly, the love of life, with all its humiliations and disappointments, against the yearning for the peace that death alone can bring.

Sawdust and Tinsel is a philosophical film, but in a much more subtle way than is characteristic of Bergman.  There is the sense here of an artist who is beginning to question what life is about, to ponder the point of human existence in a Universe with no God - existentialist themes that Bergman would revisit in later years, with increasing vigour and artistic flair.  The film also shows the director's raw humanity, through the realism of his characters and their situation.  Bergman's direction and some striking performances (most notably Åke Grönberg, playing Albert) give the film an emotional edge that transcends pathos.

The film is not quite so relentlessly grim as some of Bergman's subsequent films, but its tone is distinctly sombre, with only the occasional note of optimism to lighten the mood.  The film's bleakness was the reason for the film's lukewarm reception when it was first released in the 1950s.  Since, the film has come to be regarded as one of Bergman's great works, and it is certainly one of his most accessible films.

Significantly, the film marks the first collaboration between Ingmar Bergman and the legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who shot the exteriors and gave the film its austere, dream-like look, reminiscent of 1920s German expressionism.  Nykvist's distinctive camerawork in this film effectively defined the style for many of Bergman's later films - high contrast black and white photography, evocative use of long shadows, and disorientating camera angles - all going to emphasise the subjectivity and profound sense of personal crisis that underpins these great cinematic works.

Film Synopsis

A travelling circus that has obviously seen better days arrives at a provincial town, but the weary performers are gloomy about the reception they will receive.  Manager and ringmaster Albert Johansson takes his mistress Anne to see the owner of the town's theatre, hoping to borrow some costumes to replace their worn out garments.  Albert makes use of the excursion to visit his former wife, Agda, who has settled down to run the shop she has inherited.  Albert offers to give up his rambling life to settle down with her, but she refuses to accept him.  Meanwhile, Anne has fallen under the spell of a handsome young actor, Frans, who seduces her by a cruel deceit.  Humiliated, Anne returns to Albert, who has by now learnt of her infidelity.  When Frans appears at the next circus performance, Albert cannot contain his fury and has but one desire: to take revenge on the man who has made a fool of him...