Die Hörige

In contrast with his best friend at school, who cites Strindberg's and Nietzsche's cynical views on women, Jan-Erik Widgren considers himself an idealist, who believes there's a chaste woman out there for him. But the adolescent schoolboy's first love proves to be a loose girl he finds stumbling around drunk one night. They become lovers, even though she has another man in her life - a man she says bullies and torments her. Meanwhile, Jan-Erik is poised to fail at school, thanks to a sadistic schoolmaster - a browbeating teacher of Latin whom all the boys refer to as Caligula.

The title sequence promises a thriller, and there are sequences that seem prepared to fulfill that promise; but it never quite pans out. The story never quite pans out as satisfactory drama either, despite some acute observations by the wiser characters and good performances from everyone. Ingmar Bergman's script comes off like gleeful revenge against an actual schoolmaster he knew.

The best thing about the movie is the gorgeous black-and-white photography from Martin Bodin, under Alf Sjöberg's direction, filled with sinister shadows of domineering figures and clutching hands and low angle shots revealing shadow-strewn ceilings.

An early board school tragedy foreshadowing the likes of If… and the Danish Det forsømte forår. Written by Bergman and directed flawlessly by Alf Sjöberg, it is the grim story of sensitive gymnasiast Widgren, who falls in love with charming but haunted Bertha (mai Zetterling at 19 years of age). A dark secret connects Bertha with the sadistic Latin teacher Caligula. The movie is extremely sincere, with ominous shadows and sharp light exposing Bertha and Widgren's tormented souls. Tensions are sky-high, and one senses that the drama will be the death of one or the other. I think I maybe saw this as a teenager, or is it just because archetypical school movie themes are played out here for the first time, and to perfection? I can hardly recommend this gem too much, I will probably upgrade it on next viewing.

"Torment" from 1944 is a Swedish film directed by Alf Sjoberg with a screenplay by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman also directed the last scenes, which were put in later when the producer rejected the original ending.

Jan-Erik Widgren (Alf Kjellin) is a young student under the thumb of a sadistic Latin teacher, known by all the students as Caligula. Everyone is afraid of him. Interesting that this is based on some of Bergman's own experiences, as he hated school and hated the institution of school.

Jan-Erik believes that one day he will meet a chaste woman with whom to share his life, though his friend tells him it's impossible, all girls are tramps.

He starts talking with a pretty young woman (Mai Zetterling) who works in a nearby store. That night he sees her drunk on her way home, and he helps her. They have an affair, but she has another lover - she fears him and she's apparently afraid to leave him because of that fear. He's also a terrible bully.

Meanwhile, graduation is drawing near, and as Jan-Erik has his affair and tries to study, his chances for graduation aren't looking all that good. Then something happens that nearly destroys him.

Very good film, exquisitely photographed in black and white. Also, there is not a ton of dialogue. It almost could be a silent. I found the last scene absolutely beautiful.

I remember the star, Alf Kjellin, as an older character actor on shows like "Mission Impossible." Here he is very striking, tall with high cheekbones and an angular face. Mai Zetterling, who is only about 19 and very pretty in this film, is excellent as the tormented woman. She had a good career doing stage work in her native Sweden and then making films in Sweden, Britain, and America. When she turned to directing, her films were sexually liberated and were met with some controversy. She had big affairs with Tyrone Power and Herbert Lom. Her biography is fascinating.

Both give strong performances.

Stig Jarrel as Caligula was a very versatile, fine actor, and here he plays a real demon. He's frightening, like a snake poised to strike. His last scene is extremely powerful.

This film is definitely worth seeing, even though it's not perfect and not a masterpiece. Still, it's effective, with some strong images.

Torment is most recognised as the screenplay debut of young Ingmar Bergman. And while there are signs of a script-writer who had more than great potential, Torment does deserve to be known for more than the debut of one of the best and most influential directors in film. For it is a very fine film indeed. It looks great, with gorgeous photography and evocative scenery. Alf Sjöberg's direction is clever and sustained, while Bergman's screenplay has both its dark and affecting moments and shows great thought and insight. The story does show signs of a chilling atmosphere, affecting melodrama(without being overly so) and also of a writer early on in his career showing what he could do while developing it to even greater heights later on in his career, the film is always involving pacing wise and the character development is subtle while always making the characters interesting. The music has moments where it is too intrusive but is overall hauntingly-composed and fitting, while the acting is marvellous, especially from Stig Järrel and Mai Zetterling. In conclusion, very, very good. 9/10 Bethany Cox

While I believe the film to be a bit formulaic and is at the beginning of Bergman's career (of course he's the screenwriter here), this did captivate me for the most part. It has a level of intensity, mostly built by the psychotic Latin teacher. Any of us who have been in a class run by a tyrant, can feel our flesh crawl. The classroom scenes are really provocative and unsettling. When he shows that little smile, we know he is in much greater control than we realize. The biggest weakness for me was the whole thing with the shop girl. Why wouldn't she name her tormentor? How far had this relationship gone. We aren't privy to tender moments between the lovers, so we mostly see her as an unstable drunk, living in constant fear. What was the attraction. Was it strictly carnal. Was he sorry for her or taken with her in a kind of "Human Bondage" way. Anyway, I thought their relationship needed a great more. It is uplifting in its own way, however, and deserves a viewing. It really works pretty well.