Dreams. Confesión de pecadores

A delightful film about the love of two women-the owner of a model agency and her top model. On a photographic outing to another city, both have strange day affairs with married men. The film, as relentless as it is tender, is a deeply probing study into the psyche of desire. Bergman's success is derived from exquisite scenes of austere romanticism and painful irony. Rarely has sexual obsession been so accurately observed. Dreams is yet another masterpiece by Bergman, yet sadly underrated and unknown. For anyone who appreciates great storytelling, and masterful filmmaking should do themselves a favor and watch "Dreams". Note: Look for Bergman's cameo as the man with the poodle at the hotel.

This is a pretty nice film from Bergman's early work. It focuses on two women. One, a photographer, is a strong woman in her business, but is hanging on to a time when she was in love. She lost that love and sort of intimidates him into meeting her in a few days. She is getting older and more lonely and doesn't see life as worth much (really---in a Bergman film?). The other, played by Harriett Andersson is a young photographic model, has a fiery temper and she has driven off her lover. As she tries to get her bearings, she window shops, and is approached by a rich old man (a widower), who buys her an expensive dress, jewels, and shoes. They go to an amusement part where she has a great time while his strength begins to fizzle. They go back to his huge house and frolic like teenagers. They both have too much to drink and she is trying to seduce him when his daughter shows up and embarrasses both of them. She is stunned at how foolish she has been. The first woman meets her former lover, now a family man, and tries to rekindle the attraction. But then a series of events take place (I won't spoil the scene). The acting is excellent and there is actually a positive message that comes out of this.

I am a great admirer of Ingmar Bergman's work, there is always many things that are interesting. Not all his work are masterpieces, but so far I have not seen a film of his that I'd class as bad. Dreams is a very good movie, one of his most underrated without being up there with his finest. Some of the contrasting themes were perhaps more confidently explored in later films and the film could have been longer, but this is all a matter of preference. It is superbly directed and beautifully made, an oft-characteristic with Bergman's films. The music is hauntingly understated, while the dialogue is written in a meaningful and thought-provoking way and the story is austere, romantic, painful and ironic and observed in a masterful way. The characters are seen as selfish but compellingly real, while the acting has nothing that would strike anybody as questionable. Harriet Anderssen ties with Liv Ullman as the best of the female performers in Bergman's films, and her performance is utterly magnetic in every way possible, quite charming and very photogenic. Eva Dahlbeck- looking very classy and stunningly elegant- and Gunnar Bjornstrand provide great support, and Bergman himself even makes a cameo. All in all, an underrated film that does deserve to be seen more. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A very minor Bergman work, the film has traces of his style, especially in the first few scenes with quick edits and close-ups to draw attention to detail, as well as a well-filmed roller coaster ride. However, the screenplay does not match the quality of the directing, with basically two stories that do not gel all that well together. What the film is meant to be a study of is never clearly focused, with themes of desire as well as women's liberation both present. The middle section of the film dragged a little too, but still it is interesting to see such an early piece of work from Bergman. It is not much compared to what would later come in his career, but the film has enough interesting elements to certainly make it worth a look.

Ingmar Bergman's early film Dreams (1955), beautiful but sadly underrated and little known, presents the stories about two dissimilar women and their loves, and touches on all the timeless and tough realities of torment, longing, loneliness, and aging in a simple and sublime way. Everyone who ever was madly and desperately in love and for some reasons could not be with the object of their longing should appreciate this film. Speaking of making Dreams, Ingmar Bergman comments, "By this time Harriet (Andersson) and I had terminated our relationship, and we were both feeling quite sad. Our sadness weighs down the film". Bergman regulars Harriet Andersson and Eva Dahlbeck (both will play in the same year's Smiles of a Summer Night, a very successful and sparkling Bergman's comedy) portray two women, the owner of a model agency, Doris (Dahlbeck) and her top model, Susanne (Andersson). A major figure in Ingmar Bergman's films of the 1950s, Eva Dahlbeck was stunning - an elegant, poised, sophisticated classical blonde beauty with high intelligence and the talents in acting and writing.

Harriet Andersson was discovered at the age of 20 by Ingmar Bergman who made especially for her screen debut the film "Summer with Monica". Extraordinary and versatile as an actress, her roles ranged from the naive young girls with erotic charisma to the young woman losing her grip with reality in Through a glass darkly (1962) to the fearless breakthrough performance as a dying woman in Cries and Whispers. In Dreams, she is absolutely charming. Camera loved her - sexy, sweet, and innocent, she lit the screen in her every scene.