Review by malo-6

Hesitantly I went to this movie after reading an interesting review on a local freebie. As I expected we were about 10 people watching this film at peak time (Friday night) in a major art-films theater. It didn't matter because this is perhaps one of the best films I have seen this year. This a fully realized piece with extraordinary performances, excellent photography, superb set design/atmosphere, music, certainly the work of a great director. The story of two people who get together in a dead end relationship becomes fascinating the longer one watches them walk the road towards its logical conclusion. I personally didn't care about their "motivations" or their "backgrounds" as I have ceased to expect any logic from life. I took each second the way it came, each surprising turn, each new wrinkle in an apparently plotless movie. The ending is absolutely perfect as anyone will interpret it the way he/she wants. For me it brought up the power of memories/dreams/fantasies that don't let go, where pale and boring reality can't compete, even if one is aware that a fantasy is a fantasy. This film is much better than anything that has come out of Sundance and could have had a good shot at Cannes.

A must see if you like Bergman films: I was a thoroughly depressed individual when I walked out, and very happy to be one.