Review: Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata (Dir.: Ingmar Bergman; Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann et al.)

Autumn Sonata is a gem of a film from renowned Swedish director Ingmar Bergman which centres around the complicated and difficult relationship of a famous pianist, Charlotte and her eldest daughter, Eva, portrayed by stalwarts Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann respectively.

Autumn Sonata begins with the pianist mother Charlotte visiting Eva and her husband. Initially, the mother-daughter relationship does seem a bit frigid though courteous. Gradually, as the film unfolds, several dimensions to this relation gets revealed -Charlotte?s career, Eva?s childhood, the presence of a second daughter among others.

Autumn Sonata?s most enduring memory is its crescendo involving the two brilliant actors Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann. While it would amount to being a spoiler attempting to describe what happens, it can suffice to say that Ingmar Bergman?s greatness bursts through in this climax and one discovers the tremendous potential of a chamber drama.

Autumn Sonata?s most enduring memory is its crescendo involving the two brilliant actors Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann

This is no doubt what great cinema is about and while one of the two central figures certainly blows the viewer away with her intensity, the tremendous impact and presence of the other can only be felt on multiple viewing, and this chemistry is what contributes to Autumn Sonata being perhaps one of the best films ever made, most certainly by Ingmar Bergman and maybe even in the history of cinema.