Intermezzo

This is the Swedish version of INTERMEZZO. The film was remade for English-speaking audiences just 3 years later with a mostly non-Swedish cast, except for Ingrid Bergman who reprized her role from the original.

While this Swedish version isn't quite as polished as the other, it is the original and seems a little less polished--and this ISN'T necessarily a bad thing. Because of the lack of polish, the film seems more like it was filmed with real people and the problems seemed more universal. Also, while I didn't approve of the lead running around on his family, it sure brought up a lot of moral questions and made me think. A decent, though not great, film.

The original Swedish version of "Intermezzo" was shown on cable recently. Having seen the American treatment, we felt curious to see how it compared. This film directed by a legend of the Swedish cinema, Gusfaf Molander, is a joy to watch. Mr. Molander also wrote the screen treatment with Gosta Stevens.

The Swedish version shows American audiences a different style of acting. The idea of an older man with a loving family, falling in love with a prettier young woman is the basis of the story. In this version, the difference is more notable because Holger, the famous violinist, looks much older than in the American version. This seems to make a better case for making a case about how ultimately Holger comes back to the family. Also it makes it easier for us to accept the fact that Anita, the young pianist, realizes how deep Holger love for his family, and especially his young daughter, Anne Marie, weighed in her decision to leave him.

The performances are strong. Gosta Elman, one of the best Swedish actors makes a formidable Holger. The young Ingrid Bergman is perfect as the young Anita. Inga Tidblat, the abandoned wife Magrit gives an understated reading to her part. She understands perfectly one day this would happen. Erik Berglund and Hugo Bjorne play Charles and Thomas, Holger's friends who never make any judgment to him, yet one can watch how much they disapprove of this liaison.

The film is as effective as the American remake, although, the latter version seems to have been more fully realized and easy to take than its Swedish one. At any rate, this is a film to witness Gustaf Molander at his best!

This is coming from someone who is neither an Ingrid Bergman fan nor a fan of subtitled movies. I was surfing my cable channels, when this movie just popped up from nowhere. As you can tell my overwhelming joy in watching subtitled movies is pretty negative. The movie description said it was about a TORRID love triangle. Of course this peaked my curiosity. Peaking my curiosity and watching the movie until the end are totally two different things but to my surprise I watched the movie until the credits rolled and was not disappointed. I am still in shock that I actually enjoyed this movie. As soon as I come out of shock, which has to be soon if I plan to stay employed, I will be searching for more movies with subtitles. ENJOY!

Before becoming one of the most popular stars in Hollywood, young Ingrid Bergman gained acting experience in Swedish movies. Appearing in eleven films in her native Sweden, Bergman was spotted by film producer David O. Selznick in November 1936 "Intermezzo." The independent studio owner was so impressed by Bergman's acting in her first motion picture as a lead, he immediately made her an offer for her to come to Hollywood. She accepted. Her relocation to America to play in English-speaking roles made Bergman the fourth most legendary movie actress in cinematic history, according to the American Film Institute ranking.

Bergman's biographer Charlotte Chandler called her "arguably the most international star in the history of entertainment." Life magazine described her as having "greater versatility than any actress on the American screen. Her roles have demanded an adaptability and sensitiveness of characterization to which few actresses could rise."

Selznick was swayed with her acting in "Intermezzo" by her "natural sweetness." It was quite a complement for the young Swedish actress since her Anita Hoffman, the piano teacher for the daughter of a master violinist, was basically a home wrecker who falls for family man musician Holger Brandt (Gosta Ekman). Bergman was 22 when she played Anita, yet her on-screen talent was years ahead of other actresses her age. Named after Princess Ingrid of Sweden, Bergman had an attentive father who dreamed of his only surviving daughter to be an opera star (his wife died when Ingrid was two). She embraced acting at an early age, whom her father documented freely with his camera. "I was perhaps the most photographed child in Scandinavia," Bergman recalls. She was an orphan at 14 when her father died, but her acting ambitions never wavered. "I knew from the beginning I wanted to be an actress," Ingrid claimed.

Bergman earned a scholarship at the Royal Dramatic Theatre School, the same school Greta Garbo attended. With just one year under her belt in a three-year program, she was hired by a Swedish film studio in 1932 at 17, launching her long acting career. Six credited movies later, Bergman received her first major role as the reluctant mistress to the habitually touring violinist who was happily married to his wife. "Intermezzo" was her third movie under director Gustaf Molander, who was a former scriptwriter for Victor Sjostrom and Mauritz Stiller, Sweden's top silent movie directors. The actress credits Molander for his instructive insights, but the director who co-wrote "Intermezzo," noted "I created Intermezzo for her, but I was not responsible for its success. Ingrid herself made it successful."

Bergman excelled in the Swedish (and one German) films she appeared before accepting Selznick's invitation to America. The only hesitation by the producer was, according to his son Danny, "She didn't speak English, she was too tall, her name sounded too German, and her eyebrows were too thick." To make her feel comfortable, Selznick invited Bergman to stay with him and his wife. Also, he wanted her to be comfortable before the American camera and film crew by placing her in the same role as Anita she played in her Swedish film in the 1939 remake of "Intermezzo" opposite Leslie Howard .

What's the difference between the 1936 and 1939 Intermezzo films? Not much, except that one's in English and the other's in Swedish. Both are exactly the same story, and both star Ingrid Bergman as the alluring other woman who makes a decent family man stray. Basically, you just have to make the choice of whether you want to read subtitles or not.

In this Swedish version, Gosta Ekman is a respected violinist who has two children and a devoted wife. Ingrid is a pianist, and when she starts teaching his little girl how to play, they both start fantasizing about playing duets together. This is a very 1930s plot line, where the woman is the great temptress and the man is practically possessed by his feelings for her. Like in The Blue Angel, the man is not an active participant, but is instead the victim. Sometimes that is the case in real life, when homewreckers really go out their way to seduce a married man. But most of the time, as in the immortal words from French Kiss, they don't "steal anything that doesn't want to be stolen", so a lot of these 1930s movies aren't that realistic. However, if you want to see a very, very young Ingrid Bergman speaking in her native tongue, you can rent it. She doesn't play a femme fatale; in fact, her character is quite sweet, but just keep in mind the blame doesn't rest solely on her shoulders.