Those who question the talents of erotic cult film maker Joseph Sarno, should look at some of his Swedish-produced titles like this one. While watching "The Indelicate Balance" in it's original Swedish dialog you might think that you have stumbled upon a lost movie of Ingmar Bergman. Possibly his most subtle film, "The Indelicate Balance" is a study of a sexually dysfunctional family. Harold and new bride Karin arrive at his mother's home during a frigid, snow covered winter in rural Sweden. There are obvious tensions from the start, between mother Lena and daughter Ingrid, over something that took place in that house, years ago, between Ingrid and Harold.. Those familiar with this director's work will be able to guess what transpired between siblings. But what comes as a disturbing surprise, is the reason why the mother is so furious at her daughter.. Like many of his titles, Sarno chose to film "Indelicate Balance" in the winter months, giving his film a bleak and hopeless look and feel. And the snow covered forest and farmhouse look beautiful in all their frozen glory. And the winter settings also lends a claustrophobic feeling to the tale, as the characters are mostly forced indoors by the brutal weather. Sarno's equally beautiful "Seduction of Inga," was also filmed during a harsh Swedish winter, and his similarly incest themed "Daddy, Darling" was likewise filmed during Winter, this time in the city of Copenhagen, and this cold, barren style seems to be his trademark during this time. This family drama manages to retain the viewers interest, not with sex and nudity, as there is precious little of those exploitative elements to be found here, but rather with it's interesting characters and a tense feeling that the viewer just knows is leading up to some shocking conclusion. This one also features some of the finest acting in a Sarno film, and hearing the players speaking in Swedish definitely lends a feeling of authenticity and arthouse quality to this, one of Sarno's least known films. This obscurity has been made available by the video distributor "Retro Seduction dvd," and is included as a bonus film in the "Inga" Collector's edition box set that contains the two Marie Liljedahl films, "Inga," and "Seduction of "Inga," two more Swedish-produced films from Sarno, also among his best work. The difference in quality between his Swedish films, and his American movies, is extreme. Joe Sarno's output was definitely uneven in quality, and there were many titles that are awful. But when he got it right, he was capable of creating some superb genre films, "The Indelicate Balance" being one of his very best..
Review of The Indelicate Balance
