14. Fanny And Alexander (1982)
Fanny and Alexander Ekdahl live in Uppsala in Sweden at the turn of the 20th century. They belong to an upper middle class family where their parents work in theatre. They are happy until their father - Oscar - dies suddenly. Their mother Emilie marries Edvard the Bishop and they all move in with him, expecting to retain their joyful existence but they do not bargain on Edvard's harsh, repressive household regime. Alexander in particular hates the Bishop as he won't let him make up stories. Eventually Edvard locks the children in their rooms and an appalled Emilie asks him for a divorce. Edvard will not agree to this and tells her she can desert him but she won't have her children (the children include an infant sibling born recently). Emilie contacts her former mother in law and a friend called Isak takes the children in in secret. Edvard continues his torture of her and she gives him a drink laced with sleeping pills. As he falls asleep, Emilie tells him she intends to flee. He promises to chase after her city by city until he finds her and then he falls asleep. Emilie flees and Edvard's elderly aunt sets herself on fire accidentally. This leads to the death of Edvard. The ending is comparatively happy for a Bergman movie. It ends with a christening - but - Edvard's ghost appears to Alexander saying he will never be free. Fanny and Alexander was based on Bergman's own restrictive Lutheran childhood. It was very well received by critics when it was released (in both a longer and shorter versions). They praised the extraordinary acting and the scope of Bergman's vision. It was widely thought to be Bergman's farewell to cinema, so the critics all came out in force and got a little misty-eyed about the departure of the Great Man from the world of film making. The film won four Oscars - Best Foreign Language Film, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costumes. The film is a culmination of all of Bergman's and cinematographer Sven Nykvist's years of hard work together and it sparkles. Alternating between bawdy comedy, tragedy, fantasy - Fanny and Alexander is a sweeping, life affirming masterpiece. Paradoxically, it is a superb introduction to the work of Bergman because of its accessibility - even though it is was essentially Bergman's swan song.