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Plot synopsis:
Cries and Whispers takes place in a lavish mansion in the 19th century, filled with red carpets and white statuary. It depicts the final days of Agnes (Harriet Andersson), who is near death due to cancer. Her sisters Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin) have returned to the family home to be with her. However the two women remain distant and awkward, struggling to comfort their sister while dealing with the shock and the fear of mortality Agnes' death may bring. The deeply religious maid Anna (Kari Sylwan), whose own daughter died at an early age, is the only person in the house able to comfort the dying woman.
At length Agnes dies, and during her wake the priest (Anders Ek) declares Agnes' faith was stronger than his own. In a dream-like sequence that follows, Agnes seemingly returns to life for a short moment and asks her sisters one last time for the love and care denied to her during her lifetime. For a moment Karin, Maria and Agnes grow closer to each other, but this is short-lived when the two sisters realize that Agnes is actually dead, with Karin declaring such acts "morbid" and "disgusting." Once again only Anna is able to embrace and comfort Agnes.
The film is characterized by flashbacks that visit the characters' lives and their memories, tracing each woman's personality to the childhood they spent together. Maria remembers her affair with a handsome doctor juxtaposed with her failed marriage to her ineffectual husband; Agnes remembers her unrequited devotion to their distant mother; and Karin struggles with self-harm, self-mutilating her sexual organs to drive her husband away. The last flashback, from the deceased Agnes' point of view, is narrated via her diary and shows her sisters descending upon the house clad in white, like angels. The last words are Agnes whispering, "Come what may, this is happiness. I cannot wish for anything better. Now, for a few minutes, I can experience perfection. And I feel profoundly grateful to my life, which gives me so much..."

Tags: insanity, psychedelic, depressing, romantic, flashback

Review:
The Sounds Of Cries And Whispers Or A Study In Red. The idea of this film that is considered by many as Bergman's crown achievement came to him in his house at Faro where he lived by himself for sometime in a melancholy state of mind after a rather painful breakup.
Bergman talked with affection and gratitude about his friend and long time collaborator Swen Nykwist who spent many days creating the passionate haunting red world of "Cries and Whispers.
Bergman films are not often for casual viewing, and I certainly won't be taking this one home to watch with my mother.Like a great classical composer, Bergman uses contrast to enormous effect.
One of these flashbacks confronts the audience with one of the most disturbing image in cinema, a repressed Karin cutting her vagina with glass to avoid sex with her husband.Only a director of Bergman's calibre could make such a film riveting.
I think I've yet to see another film that depicts the pain, suffering and despair of dying to such vividness that like the characters, one almost feels the need to look away.
The story itself is fairly simple - a woman is in the final stages of cancer/tuberculosis and her two sisters and maid take care of her in her final days - but Bergman's unique narrative style and the complexity and depth of his script turn what at first seems a horror show into a profound meditation on faith, love and mortality.
All four actresses give spectacular performances: Harriet Andersson (Agnes) is searing physical pain personified, Liv Ullmann (Maria) is so nuanced and real in her flight sensuality (one extended scene that is a close-up to her face is astonishing in the incredible nuances of expressiveness and what the character is trying to conceal but can't), Ingrid Thulin (Karin) is chilling to the bone (and that one scene that is about mutilation in a very sensitive place is for sure one I'll never forget) and Kari Sylwan (Anna) is pure warmth, dedication and love.
Yes, Bergman suggests that the world can a horrible place and the human experience is full of pain, loneliness and cruelty, but he also suggests that if we extend our love to one another and let ourselves be loved, the burden won't be as hard to bare, and that there will be moments that will bring us love, happiness and grace, as Agnes says in her beautiful and haunting soliloquy.
And in many respects it offers an extremely good introduction to Bergman's work.Like many of Bergman's films, CRIES AND WHISPERS shows the director's preoccupations with memory, communication, time, community, and death.
The story is bleak: Agnes is dying and her sisters Karin and Maria have come to attend her during this final illness--but they prove unable to communicate in a meaningful way with either Agnes or each other, and Agnes' emotional care is left largely to her long-time maid, the devoted Anna.As the film unwinds, we are bought into the memories of each woman in turn.
Only the maid Anna (Kari Sylwan), with a peasant's directness, actually works to be of comfort, even going so far as to cradle Agnes' head on her naked breast and dreaming of comforting Agnes while her sisters fail.The film is ever so delicately tinged with subtle elements of lesbianism, sadomasochism, and incest, and the emotional problems experienced by Maria and Karin are at least partly sexual in nature--but these are not the focus of the film so much as they are surface indications of a deeper internal turmoil.
Combining the characters' body language with Bergman's masterful use of color to convey the personalities of the characters as well as their environment in general is something that (1) I've scarcely, if ever, seen used in a film before and (2) could not stop marvelling at its brilliance.
Sure, the film is depressing and certainly is not for those who think that "The Italian Job" is the best film of the year, however, for those who can just watch the relationships of the sisters unfold in all its splendor and anguish, this is truly a work of art rivalling those of any medium.MY RATING: 10/10 (and I don't give tens lightly)HIGHLIGHTS: Liv Ullmann, Harriet Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Kari Sylwan, Sven Nykvist's cinematography, Bergman's use of color and his direction in general.
To see Liv Ullmann, whose nature is so warm and natural, play a role in which her warmth is superficial and fraudulent, is a little offsetting; yet, great actress that she is, she pulls it off, so that if I had never seen her before, I would believe she was that way."Cries and Whispers," much ballyhooed, I recall, when it appeared, seems too psychoanalytically intense today; dark and mysterious, beautifully filmed in an intense red-yes, very striking against the northern cold, but somehow not entirely convincing.
Bergman himself of course was already a legend by the time this film was made, a great master who did what he wanted and what he felt, yet never lost sight of the audience.
Cries and Whispers is a film that will strike at least one chord with any viewer on its emotional placement, the almost unflinching (and absolutely masterful) camera technique by Sven Nykvist, and with the characterizations from the four female leads, in-particular the dying Harriet Andersson.
Ullman plays Agnes, marked with Tuberculosis, she lays on her death bed like a zombie writhing in pain for the eventual end, with her two sisters, Maria and Karin, and the servant Anna, at her bedside, though seeming at a distance (except for Anna).
There's only one aspect of the film that I can criticize: many times in the film Bergman uses a red screen to fade in and fade out, and then again a few seconds later, and this seems to have not much purpose to the symbolic impact since the inside of the house conveys enough that these people are in a metaphorical house of hell already, and the fadings don't add any weight to it.
Agnes (Harriet Andersson) is dying of cancer, and her two sisters Karin (Ingrid Thulin) and Maria (Liv Ullmann) come to comfort her in her final days.
Hopefully there is some great lesson here and I'm just too ignorant to have seen it; otherwise, all those people who hold this movie in high regard must have fallen prey to Art Student Pitfall Number 1: "If you don't like it, understand it, or think it skillful, but it is held in reverent awe by the art establishment, keep discussing it in late night bull sessions with your friends and you're bound to justify it to some vague degree eventually".
Pain, hate, and judgement serve as the premise for this film, which happens to be my first Bergman experience so I had no real idea of what to expect.
It's just too simple and too slow for my liking, but hell this is a movie about the human condition and when you're following three depressed souls like these you can't exactly go in a different direction than the way this film went..
Paint a house red, put 3 or 4 women in a room talking nonsense all the time, focus the camera in front of a woman's face for 10 minutes, ....and the result is this cinematic monstrosity "directed" by the "genius" Bergman.
Ingmar Bergman's Cries & Whispers is a story of death, real death and the walking dead, as epitomized by three sisters: Agnes (Harriet Andersson), Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin).
At the turn of the century in Sweden, Maria and Karin come to visit their dying sister Agnes, who is in terrible pain from what is probably cancer.
(Evidently he lives, though.) Karin hates her cold husband and what she does to keep him away from her is one of the most shocking scenes in the history of film.We're not told what childhood trauma, what "tissue of lies" of which Karin speaks that has driven these women to lack compassion or empathy; we know only that Maria was her mother's favorite.
There is a homoerotic undertone to Karin's relationship with Maria, which Karin seems to both want and reject.The cinematography in Cries & Whispers in glorious, from the vivid red that is used to punctuate scenes, to the women's surrounds.
Bergman's films on the most part have superb direction and thought-provoking screenplays and Cries and Whispers is no exception on both counts, in fact it is one of the finer cases of being so.
What really distinguishes Cries and Whispers aside from the production values, Bergman's direction and Andersson's performance is the story, which focuses on the failure of love and agony of loss.
Perhaps not and yet it remains one of the towering masterpieces of world cinema which should tell you exactly where Bergman stands.His extraordinary use of colour, (mostly reds and whites; Sven Nykvist won the Oscar for his cinematography), goes some way in alleviating the almost unwatchable horror of the films central situation of a woman dying in agony while those around her are powerless to help her or lessen her pain.
When a woman (Harriet Andersson) dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.It was for the saturated color and light scheme that cinematographer Sven Nykvist was awarded the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Among the greatest of Bergman's works, this film fully marries mind, heart and soul.Intensely beautiful to look at, with red - the color of blood, of death, of passion -everywhere.The performances are astounding.
Up to this point in Bergman's career there was often a theatricality even to the truly great Bergman performances, but here the actors always feel exquisitely, heartbreakingly real."Cries and Whispers" also made me realize that Bergman is a director in general experienced as much in the aftershocks and later absorption of seeing his films as in the moment of watching them.
It's not the way I'm used to film working, but I've had that experience too many times with Bergman's work for it to be mere coincidence.The exploration of the effects the slow painful death of a 19th century woman on her two sisters and long time maid (and lover?) is the subject, but it is experienced more like a poem than like a story.
It is emotionally honest, yes, but it doesn't ask the big questions about God, death, life, or love – it just shows us how sad our little existences can be, even when living in luxury as the three sisters do, and how pitiful dying is.It was great to see Harriett Andersson again, 20 years after her first Bergman film, 'Summer with Monika', and she has the movie's best line in the final memory, a happy (and profound) moment on a swing with her sisters: "I wanted to cling to that moment, and I thoughtCome what may, this is happiness.
"Cries and Whispers" definitely kept my stomach in a knot the entire time and it was a relief to see some light at the end of the tunnel with the closing scene of the sisters outside and enjoying one another's company..
The color of red is apparent throughout the film, but at times when it isn't shown, there's this relief from the intensity of it all.This film is definitely intense, and though it felt like watching a nightmare, you can't help but take in the few rare loving emotions that are revealed.
We had learned in mu film class that Bergman wanted his actors to understand his characters' feelings, not show what they thought the character would look like from what they felt.
Great film, although about the death of a sibling, there is hope in Agnes the maid who overall seems to be the most sane and transparent character..
Well, the relation between the sisters--Karin (Ingrid Thullin), Maria (Liv Ullmann), and Agnes (Harriet Andersson) in this film is distant.
"Cries & Whispers" is one of my first viewing of Bergman's many films.
Such as, Karins flashback where she self mutilates herself in order to share intimate time with old and husband.I think the art of the film is watching these characters in this complex web of emotions which cripple them into this state of not sure to be happy or cry..
As a result, reality and dream, present and past, and red and white represent the title 'Cries and Whispers.' The director shows the audiences characters' individual emotion and lack of communication through close-up angle, lights, and colors.
Don't be surprised if, by the end of the movie, you feel yourself experiencing emotions as the film's characters do.
Filled with many close-ups, stagnant in pose, focused to attention and lead the viewer into their own sense of agony, Igmar Bergman's film follows tragic emotion with such perfect skill.Agnes, dying of cancer, lays still in her bed while her two sisters, Karin and Maria, watch over her to be of aid until her final breath.
I understand that Bergman's take on this film is not only to show how sad the movie is, he also showed us the unconditional love that Anna had for Agnes.
I think it's a way Bergman showing the audience how Agnes suffered by having similarity to the suffering of Christ.---This film is not for everyone, but you will appreciate it when you watch it with open mind..
Yes of course there were other wonders...The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Virgin Spring, Smiles on a Summer Night but none of these have haunted me as Cries and Whispers still does 20 years after my first viewing..confined within an austere womb this painfully re cognitive dream piece has moments of devastating power...The acting by the women is of course sublime...Has any other director demanded so much self revelation as Bergman does here and elsewhere through his distinctive oeuvre...enjoy the pain.
Unlike most of Ingmar Bergman's films, Cries and Whispers uses saturated colour, the turn-of-the-century rural Swedish mansion being primarily crimson, a symbol of guilt, sin and anger, blood and sex, as well as the characters' struggle with courage and sacrifice.
The only comfort and solace comes from her maid, played with a crushing tenderness by Kari Sylwan.As is a telling characteristic of Bergman's, logic of symbolism is applied to emotional pain, and though we look at some scenes such as the sisters retreating from their dying sister as she grasps for their hands, each repelling in their own ways, in a more detached and intellectual way, there are scenes such as the final one, which shows Harriet Andersson's face, juxtaposed with her voices, juxtaposed with all that has happened, which draw deep feelings from us as the final taste left in one's mouth as the film closes..
So one shouldn't think that I found this film bad, only that it wasn't among my favorites ever.The camera work of this film is excellent and the cinematography looks like something from a late Kubrick film.Highly recommended for fans of art films that have a plot, characters and drama (which some Bergman films lack, such as The Seventh Seal)..
This film is certainly a classic as it incorporates different themes of love, the power of touch, pain, life, death and how we as humans deal with our emotions.
Like many of Bergman's films, death takes place in this picture both physically and metaphorically.
This brings us to the first most striking feature of Cries and Whispers; the incredible use of colour.The continual image of white-clad figures against a backdrop of piercing deep red is near iconic within Bergman's career, with the film even fading to red during key moments to further stress the idea of characters being swallowed up by this thick, acrid stench of death, which clings to the walls of this house that traps secrets with no sense of escape.
Swedish actress Harriet Anderson gives the performance of her life as the dying Agnes and in the flashback-scenes Ingmar Bergman shows the viewers a cheerfulness and warmth that stands in contrast to the films present time.
I place Cries and Whispers near the bottom of the dozen or so Bergman films that I watch from time to time.
It depicts quite a devastating picture of a family situation in crises because people just can't communicate with each other.The story tells of a dying woman, in terrible pain, who lives in a house with her two sisters (neither of whom seem to like her much) and her maid (who seems to be the only one who cares about her).The film is very visually stylish, with bright reds and whites predominating.
Between these four characters (magnificent interpreted by Liv Ullman (Maria), Ingrid Thullin (Karin), Harriet Andersson (Agnes) and Kari Sylwan (Anna, the woman that appears in the front page of the movie)) the film present shocking scenes where reality and imagination are confused with dreams, desires and passions.Besides the excellent direction and performance of these four actresses, another element is the extraordinary photograph of Sven Nykvist and the choreography (including costume design).
Cries and Whispers the 1974 movie that won the Oscar for Best Cinematography by Ingmar Bergman is a beautifully filmed movie that tackles the ever so difficult question of death.
Bergman creates scenes to evoke emotion from you, and at the same time, really understand where the characters are coming from in their mind, and understand why they are they way they are.
Given these plot elements, I am AMAZED that so many see Bergman as one of our greatest directors!So, if painful deaths from cancer, deep depression, bizarre fantasies and a VERY emotionally blunted script is your idea of fun, give this film a try.
If you think the previous Bergmans were drenched in depression and hatred of life, you will be surprised by the cheerful nature of this very red film.This wonderfully red movie is about a woman who is dying (surprisingly, not from a suicide attempt) and her sisters and their husbands.