Au seuil de la vie

Maybe this isn't the deepest film of Bergman - or the most spectacular film visually - but there is something with this movie that I like. Maybe that's the stripped and easy settings, that's differently in comparison with other films directed by Bergman, or maybe that's the three interesting women's stories - that the film is about - that touches me.

And maybe Bergman knew that. Maybe he knew that films about pregnancies and all that concern about that, touches people. Maybe he knew that it was an excellent idea to directing a film, that takes place in some gloomy hospital wards - for the gloomy settings, leaves space to a film that entirely focus on three - more or less - wounded souls.

Maybe he knew that. Maybe he knew that it was the way to a masterpiece.

Getting close to the end of my Ingmar Bergman quest, I now see him as a director that I admire highly. And I love his films, so far actually All These Women is the only one I didn't like. So Close to Life is a gem. The subject matter is a challenging one indeed, but handled very intelligently by Bergman that is never dealt with in a heavy-handed way. This is further advantaged by a thoughtful script and superb direction. Same with how the characters are written, how Bergman portrays women in his films never fails to compel or amaze me. These characters are not stereotypes or ones that don't engage you in any way, these characters are ones that are compellingly real. As always with a Bergman film, So Close to Life is incredibly well made, being strikingly and atmospherically shot and with memorable scenery and imagery. The acting is exceptional from some of the best ever Swedish actors, so much so that it is difficult to give a definite standout. If I did have to choose, Bibbi Andersson probably whose performance is up there among her best. All in all, a Bergman gem yet sadly overlooked. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Undervalued Bergman film whose themes are pregnancy and birth. I've never seen these subjects discussed in a film with such lucidity. Three women in various states of pregnancy are in a hospital room together. We are first introduced to Ingrid Thulin, who is only a few months pregnant. She has come to the hospital because she has had a hemorrhage. She loses the fetus, which gives her a new view on her relationship with her husband (Erland Josephson). One of her roommates, played by Eva Dahlbeck, is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She has a loving relationship with her husband, and they cannot wait to have their child. The third roommate is Bibi Andersson, a young, single woman who has had an abortion before. She doesn't want this baby, either, but neither does she want to have another abortion. Childbirth really is a frightening thing. Even if the woman has a man, she is alone within herself when the event happens. I think this may be one of Bergman's best films, although the poor quality of the video harmed its effect quite a bit. It had white subtitles, and, since the entire film takes place in a hospital, you could imagine that the white hospital gowns and sheets and such really block the subtitles a good amount of the time. There were certainly some major bits of dialogue that I had no chance of understanding. I eagerly await a proper DVD release, although I'm not going to hold my breath. The three actresses are absolutely brilliant, especially Bibi Andersson, who definitely gives one of her best performances.

What makes this film special is that in 1958 it was examining the emotions and process of childbirth, openly talking about unwanted pregnancy and abortion, and showing it all from the perspective of three women in a hospital. The fact that it acknowledges what it does is in stark contrast to films coming out of America, where the most innocuous of things about a woman's body or even having a baby was suppressed. There is an interesting dynamic in trying to convince an unwed woman to have the child because of all of the support Sweden's public health system now provided, the guilt and turmoil of emotions each feel because of stressful situations or events, and the heartfelt support they show each other. It's a quiet movie for the most part, one that examines feelings and lets us know that coming into the world is not such a simple thing, but a truly gripping moment occurs when one woman is patronized by a male doctor and sedated against her will. I can't say it was one I would reach for and re-watch necessarily, but I'm impressed by the subject matter, and think at the time it would have felt truly groundbreaking.

This film is one of the most important of all those that I have seen in my movie going, spanning fifty years, for it was the first Bergman film I saw in the early sixties at Auckland's only cinema for foreign films. I was struck by its humanity, by its clear eyed view of what it is to be human. Not only did it open up the whole body of Bergman's subsequent work, but I saw the themes first explored in this film deepened and enriched (with a few disappointments to be sure) throughout his career. I first learned here that more difficult and challenging films keep giving long after they have been first seen. Those who say Bergman is gloomy and depressing, all I can say is that the MOST depressing experience in the cinema EVER for me, was being persuaded to join a group of people "just for a laugh" to see the truly execrable "Sex and the City 2" Compare the insulting view of women in that piece of rubbish with this gem.