Das Lächeln einer Sommernacht

Men, as a gender, do not come off well in Bergman's charming sex comedy Smiles of a Summer Night, made only one year before his breakthrough hit, The Seventh Seal. At the center of the film is Frederik Egerman (Gunnar Bjonstrand) pompous and self-assured as a lawyer but insecure and frightened by competition as a lover. His son, Henrik (Bjorn Bjelvenstam), torn between the church and the bedroom, is filled with self-hatred for even thinking about going to bed with Petra the maid (Harriet Andersson). Another over-the-top male character is Count Malcolm (Jarl Kulle) a poseur whose only response to his wife's infidelity is to challenge the paramour to a duel or a game of Russian Roulette.

In Bergman's world, men are childish, selfish, and arrogant. The women on the other hand are stronger, more self-reflective, capable of pandering to the male ego and to direct their affections elsewhere when the need arises. They suffer greatly, however. Charlotte Malcolm(Margit Carlqvist), the Count's wife admits that she hates men and finds them repulsive with their "hairy" bodies but nonetheless is hopelessly in love with her philandering husband. She says that in any event "a woman's view is seldom based on aesthetics. And one can always turn out the light." Set at the turn of the century, Frederik is married to the very beautiful 19-year old Anne (Ulla Jacobson) but their marriage has never been consummated even after the passage of two years. Though it remains unclear as to why this is the case, nonetheless, Frederik is not at a loss for romance, taking up with a famous actress the equally lovely Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), a relationship that began soon after Frederik's first wife died but never revealed to Anne. He confides in her in a way that he cannot with his young wife and she is a comfort to him though their relationship is full of bitter verbal thrusts and parries. Desiree on the other hand has a string of lovers and it is not hard to understand why, given her fame, beauty, and rapier wit. One of them is the aforementioned Count Malcolm, a ludicrous character with his military getup and macho posturing.

The Count is also not averse to playing around and it turns out that he is also married to the stately and elegant Charlotte. He says that he can accept someone making overtures to his wife but if anyone goes after his mistress, he becomes a "tiger". Later he says the exact opposite when his wife and Frederik have a go round. Oh yes, Henrik secretly desires Anne, and Petra, well she's open to any offers. The situation could have deteriorated into farce but in Bergman's assured hand, everything is resolved in a civilized and even graceful way at a gathering of all eight combatants at Anne's mother's country retreat. Here they all drink a mystery wine and sort out their relationships in a remarkably satisfying manner.

Smiles of a Summer Night came as quite a surprise to me, being used to the philosophical Bergman of Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal (yet always with an added bit of humor). I found it thoroughly enjoyable, an opinion apparently shared with Woody Allen whose film A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy mirrored it and Stephen Sondheim who based his musical "A Little Night Music" on the film. I can't remember when there was such a collection of beautiful women in one film. Not only do they look wonderful but act impeccably and say wise and witty things. Bravo Bergman!

Frederik is married to young Anne, though she struggles to become a big fan, as he continues to wait, to engage or consummate, two annus horriblis for the patient old man.

Now Frederik re-encounters Desiree, an old flame he recalls was quite fiery, has a lover the Count, who she likes to surmount, though she'd like to join Frederik and replay.

The Count has a wife who wants him back, recover him to the conjugal sack, there's a bit of a do, where there'll be much ado, where she'll try to get back on track.

Henrik is Frederik's son, he's been having quite a lot of cheer and fun, with Petra the maid, but he'd like to upgrade, with Anne and run off into the sun.

Summer spirits are raised and reduced in metaphorical musical chairs mayhem between a variety of courting couples across the classes of the day, with plenty to make you smile and copious amounts of style.

Charming, light-hearted, delicate, and romantic are not the terms most people think to use when describing Bergman films, and yet "Smiles of a Summer Night" is all of these. This is one of the most sophisticated romantic movies ever filmed, and a pure delight. It is a clever and witty romance based on the classic elements of French farce. Simply wonderful.

Begrman's comedy's tend to leave me cold, but I was persuaded that this one would be interesting. Bergman to some extent made his name on the back of this film. Woody Allen famously based A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy on this movie, thus coming out as a Bergman fan.

Frankly, I think Allen has more talent for comedy than Bergman, but Smiles of a Summer Night has more depth and more interesting development of ideas than the Allen follow-up.

This movie is a typical comedy of manners and the plot is of little consequence - it has a few fun moments but the interest is in the acting and the ideas. In terms of performances, Gunnar Bjornstrand and Harriet Andersson are both superb - the rest are Bergman's usual suspects, mostly of ensemble quality. Perhaps it is Bergman's weakness with comedy, but Eva Dahlbeck and Jarl Kulle (who appear frequently in his comedies) usually seem very weak to me. Bibi Andersson is in this movie, but I blinked at the appropriate moment so I missed her. Sigh.

The core ideas of the film (that love visits few of us, even fewer of us make a good fist of it, most of us live lies and/or make fools of ourselves in matters of love) are examined well and in an enjoyable way. The style of this comedy reminds me of Jean Anouilh's lighter plays, which I suppose reflects the European style of the 1950's.

Most Bergman comedies have aged disgracefully, but this one has aged gracefully and certainly has something. Worth watching.

This was director Ingmar Bergman's break-through film, the winner of the 1956 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the first of his many internationally acclaimed films. The story is a time honored one, referencing the same tradition of romantic complications found in Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and Rostand's LA RONDE: every one is either in love with or married to the wrong person.

A famous actress with two very different lovers invites both, their wives, and the son of one lover to her mother's country estate in the hope of sorting out the romantic entanglements to her satisfaction--and the result is considerable charm and unexpectedly dry wit. All the performances are excellent, with Eva Dahlbeck's Desiree a standout, but the real star of this ensemble piece is the unexpectedly witty script. Never quite veering over into broad farce but never sinking into romantic sentimentality, it is a very precisely written tale, and both cast and director make the most of it.

In the face of Bergman's later work, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT may seem rather slight, and indeed both psychology and cinematography is considerably less complex than one expects. Even so, it is very much a Bergman film: the visual style is distinct, and the themes of appearances vs. reality, the inability to correctly interpret another's behavior, and the failure to understand one's self are very much in evidence--only here to comic effect. It is in every way a charming film that Bergman fans will enjoy.

Incidentally, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT was successfully translated to the stage as the musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, the score of which includes the famous "Send In The Clowns." Fans of the original film will be interested to compare the two works.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer