First Review

Fanny & Alexander

Released in 1983

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

This is the last film Bergman ever directed for the screen (though he did a lot of T.V. work and wrote a few films in the years to come) it’s the story of a 9-year-old boy named Alexander Ekdahl, who comes from a family of theater actors in Sweden in the early 20th Century, and the year that changed his life forever. We open on Christmas Eve, and Grandma Helena Ekdahl hosts the party for the entire Ekhdal family at her house. Her three sons, the ambitious and philandering Gustav Adolf, the good-natured but financially desperate Carl, and the humble actor Oscar, the father of Alexander and his sister Fanny.

Oscar is ill throughout the party, and soon after, he dies, leaving his wife Emilie alone and desperate. She marries Bishop Edvard Vergerus, a man of the Church who is a strict disciplinarian, and he immediately clashes with Alexander’s wide imagination. With the help of his grandmother’s friend Isak, and a mysterious nephew of his who lives hidden within his puppetry shop, Alexander escapes the Bishop, but is dealt with a choice that might be too much for a little boy to handle.

Bergman was always a master at setting up his world for the characters to live in. It is the ambiance that has always set the tone in his films, and in this film, the ambiance says so much about the characters. The Ekdahl household is full of warm colors, which makes it aesthetically very welcoming. It’s a place where the viewer can feel comfortable. In contrast, the Bishop’s house is made of austere white walls. It’s a place the audience doesn’t want to stay, and the Bishop, as well as his mother and sister, seem like their made of ice when set up against these white mirrors. Sven Nykvist takes full advantage of this scenery and makes this real-world setting feel somewhat supernatural, as seen through the eyes of a little boy.

Fanny’s role in this story is the one of the loyal sister, always standing by her brother’s side, and she sees everything he sees. She’s the first to see her father’s ghost, before Alexander gets to speak with him, and she tries to protect Alexander from the Bishop as much as she can. Her mere presence gives Alexander the courage to stand up to the world. She may not say much, but Alexander knows she’s on his side.

Fanny & Alexander seems to be the culmination of all of Bergman’s earlier works. It has the intense relationship drama that we saw in Cries & Whispers and Autumn Sonata, and it explores themes of innocence and the supernatural, as well as Death, which was present in The Seventh Seal. He approaches the frailty of human life and how quickly things can change. He also explores our place in life and compares it to the roles actors play. We play the son, the father, the teacher, the creator. This is the story of a little boy with a part to play, and no one will tell him how to play it.

Isaac Richter