Skammen / Shame (1968) :
Brief Review -
Here is Swedish Arthouse Classic set in War Zone. Bergman's brutalized version of beautiful looking ugly characters. Shame has to be rewarded as one of the most gutsy and brutal classic ever made on War topic as it deals with the horrors of war without giving a soft touch to the main characters. Mostly War films shows us 'good characters' being tortured but how many war films have shown us ugly characters? In Shame, Bergman does that thing and that too without losing ampathetic sense. In the midst of a civil war, former violinists Jan and Eva, who have a tempestuous marriage, run a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives. It has those typical Bergman style scenes full of unethic ingredients. I don't know what he gets by showing extramarital sexual affairs in every film, it doesn't sound good everytime and that's the reason i called the characters 'Ugly'. Though it has pretty implausible reason like War effects on human nature and life but still i personally don't like watching such stuff. Ullmann and von Sydow play Eva and Jan in the film and both of them are just terrific. Ullman's monologue when she talks about having a child on coffee table is so impressive and it is a long shot with still frame. Sydow in those emotional breakdown scenes is brilliant and then he goes completely opposite in the ending portion to show brutal change. Shame is a very important film for art lovers because War theme has always provided mainstream dramas except for a few Classics. I was surprised to see Bergman making such a pacy, loud and explosive film. It was a pleasant surprise though. Overall, An Absolute Classy Product.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Here is Swedish Arthouse Classic set in War Zone. Bergman's brutalized version of beautiful looking ugly characters. Shame has to be rewarded as one of the most gutsy and brutal classic ever made on War topic as it deals with the horrors of war without giving a soft touch to the main characters. Mostly War films shows us 'good characters' being tortured but how many war films have shown us ugly characters? In Shame, Bergman does that thing and that too without losing ampathetic sense. In the midst of a civil war, former violinists Jan and Eva, who have a tempestuous marriage, run a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives. It has those typical Bergman style scenes full of unethic ingredients. I don't know what he gets by showing extramarital sexual affairs in every film, it doesn't sound good everytime and that's the reason i called the characters 'Ugly'. Though it has pretty implausible reason like War effects on human nature and life but still i personally don't like watching such stuff. Ullmann and von Sydow play Eva and Jan in the film and both of them are just terrific. Ullman's monologue when she talks about having a child on coffee table is so impressive and it is a long shot with still frame. Sydow in those emotional breakdown scenes is brilliant and then he goes completely opposite in the ending portion to show brutal change. Shame is a very important film for art lovers because War theme has always provided mainstream dramas except for a few Classics. I was surprised to see Bergman making such a pacy, loud and explosive film. It was a pleasant surprise though. Overall, An Absolute Classy Product.
RATING - 8/10*
By - #samthebestest.