In 1968, during the heat of the Vietnam War, Ingmar Bergman made this angry and desperate film, No Stand No Stand, designed to express anti-war ideology. As early as 1966's "Masquerade", Bergman included a set of TV images of Vietnamese monks self-immolating in order to shock the actress so that she refused to speak. And in those two years, what has changed so that he no longer has any position?
The movie "Shame" doesn't give an answer. The film does not directly imbue the audience with any author's intentions, it is only responsible for showing the lives of the characters, leaving the decision to the audience. Both films starred Liv Uman, who has collaborated with Bergman in as many as 9 films, the first of which is "Masquerade". Her co-star is Max von Sydow, who has appeared in Bergman's films since The Seventh Seal (1957). Uhmann and von Sydow play a tormented couple, as they did in "Jackal Hour" and "Anna's Lust". From a certain point of view, the couples in these three films are the same thing, and the only thing that has changed is the shell of the story.
In the film, they were all musicians in the symphony orchestra, but now they live in a dry hut on an island and make a living by farming. Nothing in the house seemed to work, including the radio, and they could only hear rumors of what seemed to be an endless war. Eva (Uman) is always worried about their lives and always longs to have a child. Her husband Jan (von Sydow) is confident that the war will not affect them. Until one day, their peaceful life was broken. Jets fly low over houses, parachuting pilots are killed, enemy forces raid and question them, and they are held and tortured by another force (seemingly representing the local forces, but in fact not popular).
The couple were harshly interrogated, and a falsified video of Eva's interview left them suffering. They were then sent home, only to watch as their homes were vandalized. Eva had sex with the colonel (Gunard Bujornstrand, first with Bergman in the 1944 film Torment). Did she do it to save themselves? Maybe, but it's hard to say. But it's also true that her marriage was miserable. The colonel was caught by the hostile forces shortly after he left, and Yang hid the money that might have redeemed the colonel. Was he doing this to punish them for their adultery? It's hard to say whether he actually knew about it.
All of this (and I've left out many details) portrays a devastated couple whose peaceful lives are torn apart and forced into a new world of horror and despair. War always tests their humanity, who they are, and what they really feel. At the end of the film, everyone is drowned in the boundless sea, and then the camera turns to the sky, its desolation and isolation are rare in Bergman films.
"Shame" was voted the best film of the year by the American Film Critics Association, and four decades later, it lacks attention -- relative to "Masquerade." If he is willing to directly point to the Vietnam War in the film, perhaps the film can have a more profound impact. Conversely, he was unhappy with critics interpreting "Masquerade" as anti-Vietnam War, especially because of just one of the episodes. It should be said that "Masquerade" is far more than that. In this film, you'll find him deliberately isolating information from the outside world to focus on human nature (as he did in the God's Silence trilogy). That doesn't mean he's become a realist or a traditional storyteller, but that he's emancipated from ideology.
Ideology is an enemy in Shame, Yang and Eva were punished because they were suspected supporters of a hostile force, but the film doesn't show any information about the war, where it happened, who the two sides were, and What do they each represent. For the civilians captured in the film, there is no way out. Yang and Eva are neither supporters of the other side nor patriots of this side. In a sense, the film refers to shooting ordinary civilians in the Iraq war — or any war you can count on.
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In 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war, Ingmar Bergman made this angry and bleak film that was against all war, and argued that it didn't matter which side you were on. In 1966, in his "Persona," he had used the famous televised footage of a Vietnamese monk burning himself alive to shock an actress into ceasing all forms of speech. In the two years between, what had changed, so that he no longer took sides?
It is a question without an answer in "Shame," which does not deliver a message in any formal way, but simply offers people and their lives and leaves us to conclude what we choose. Both films star Liv Ullmann, his actress in nine films starting with "Persona." Her co-star is Max von Sydow, who had worked with Bergman since "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Ullmann and Bergman play a tortured couple, as they also do in "Hour of the Wolf" and "The Passion of Anna." In a strange sense, all three films are about the same couple; only their narrative changes.
They were once symphonic musicians. Now they live in a weathered house on an island, growing fruits and vegetables. Nothing in their house seems to work, including the radio, so they hear only distant rumors of a war that has been waged seemingly forever. Eva Rosenberg (Ullmann) is concerned with the danger to their lives and to her desire to bear children. Her husband Jan (von Sydow) believes the war will pass them by. Their serenity is interrupted by jet planes flying low over their house, the killing of a parachuting airman, the arrival of troops, their inquisition, and eventually their incarceration by the other side (which seems to be the local side, but loyalties are divided).
They are questioned harshly. A falsely doctored video of Eva is used against her. They are sent back to their home, only to witness its wanton destruction. Eva has sex with the colonel in charge (Gunnar Bjornstrand, who first worked with Bergman in a 1944 film he wrote, "Torment"). Does she do it to save them? Probably, but hard to say. Her own marriage is painfully uncertain. Later, Jan conceals money that could have bought the colonel's freedom from the other side. Does he do it to punish their adultery? Hard to say if he has actually witnessed it.
All of this (I have left out many details) paints a portrait of a couple torn from their secure lives and forced into a horrifying new world of despair, testing them both to discover who they really are what they really feel. The overwhelming concluding passages , interrupted by shots of the sky, are among the most desolate Bergman ever filmed.
"Shame" was named best film of the year by the National Society of Film Critics, but is not much talked about 40 years later--certainly not in comparison with "Persona." It might have made a greater impact if he'd made it specifically about Vietnam, but I believe he was unhappy that "Persona" had been decoded by critics as being against that war, all because of one image; it was about, and against, a great deal more. In this film you can see him shifting away from message and toward the close regard of human behavior and personality (as in his "Silence of God" trilogy). That did not turn him into a realist or a conventional storyteller, but it freed him from ideology.
Ideology is one of the enemies in "Shame." Jan and Eva are punished because they are suspected of being "sympathizers," but the film lacks any information about where it takes place, who the two sides are, and what they stand for. To a civilian caught in the middle, there is no way out. Jan and Eva are not sympathizers for the other side, but neither are they patriots for this side. In a sense, the film could be about the ordinary non-combatant people of Iraq--or, pick your war.
"Shame" is available on DVD, alone or packaged with "Hour of the Wolf" and "The Passion of Anna."
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