Summer Interlude

Starring: Maj-Britt Nilsson, Birger Malmsten, Alf Ericson, Georg Funkquist, Stig Olin, Mimi Pollak, Renee Bjorling
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Romance
1951

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A ballet dancer (Maj-Britt Nilsson) recalls the summer she fell in love, thirteen years prior, to make sense of the current state of her life.

Review:

Tim: You never quite know what you're going to get with an Ingmar Bergman movie. Each one feels so distinct and original. Summer Interlude isn't one of my favorite Bergman movies, but it's a perfectly watchable, enjoyable movie. I don't think I connected with the characters as much as the movie intended for me to. The story felt interesting but rarely as powerful as it could have been. There were a few terrific moments, interspersed with ordinariness. In the end, I liked the movie, but was rarely impressed.

The story starts out by focusing on this ballet dancer. It's a bit hard to penetrate the walls Maj-Britt Nilsson has up, but we soon discover there's something in this character's past that still impacts her today. She's suffered some trauma (although, to be fair, we all have). That's the story- it soon offers us flashbacks to a summer vacation where she meets a young man, falls in love, deals with some weird family dysfunction, and eventually, has the life-shifting climactic moment toward the end. None of this is revolutionary, but it's told with care and grace by Bergman. It's a beautiful story, in a way. Relatable to nearly everyone- we've all had loves lost, albeit likely not by these exact circumstances. This is a story about reflection and memory, how the events of our past can shape our future. In that sense, this story is all of our stories, a foundational human story. I would call the story especially relatable, but not always original.

Much of your thoughts on this film will depend on how you feel about the main characters, Marie and Henrik. I was lukewarm on them. I thought they were fine, but I don't think Nilsson or Birger Malmsten were such fantastic actors that they truly drew us into these characters. They both are obviously too old to play these characters in the flashbacks, although they do a great job of shifting their performances into the juvenile. I believed their performances, even though their faces betray the truth. Their relationship takes up the majority of the movie. It feels fine- the kind of relationship that feels overpowering when you're in it, but feels blase to anyone on the outside. Their love felt tenuous, young, not steeped in the world yet. Maybe that's some of my 40+ year-old cynicism seeping in, but the movie doesn't do enough to convince us that this is special. Without that conviction at their relationship, it's hard to take everything around it seriously.

Bergman is a talented director, so I appreciated the way he framed this story. It's a beautiful movie to look at- the location was memorable and evokes memories in anyone who's escaped the day-to-day reality with an extended vacation. Bergman treats his subjects as if they were the most interesting things in the world, even when they feel commonplace to outsiders. I've heard this film called extraordinarily beautiful, filled with human emotion, and that seems an apt description. I didn't always love the journey, but I was always interested in seeing where this story led.

It felt like Bergman's main focus on the love story at the heart of the film took up most of the film's energy. The bookend framing scenes felt too rushed, less effective. I wasn't as interested in the grown-up Marie's relationship with David. It was interesting to learn a bit about the ballet, but the movie needed to lean into those scenes more. We get people talking about the ballet far more than actually seeing those scenes. The end of the film felt somehow less than I expected. We get hints of unsavory moments in Marie's life, but the conclusion felt a bit underwhelming to me. I wanted something that made the whole journey feel worthwhile. It didn't quite land.

That all being said, Summer Interlude is always a good movie. I enjoyed it. Bergman is a talented director and knows how to tell a story. This one felt like it delivered less of an emotional knockout punch than I wanted. It's subtle, quiet, reflective. I don't think this is close to being a great film, but it's always a good one. I enjoyed my time with these characters and although the story isn't especially memorable, I'll have vague but fond memories of this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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