"Cries and Whispers" - the voice of the soul
no longer narrates tortuous stories, no longer interrogates the existence of God, no longer depicts complex emotions, and no longer explores deep human nature, Ingmar Bergman in "Cries and Whispers" chooses to listen to those voices from the depths of the human soul, those Cries and whispers.
1.
Compared with the depth of the theme, the story of the film is very simple. The woods and grass in the early morning kicked off the film. Compared with the closed and depressed interior of the room, the outside of the room seemed to be full of vigor.
Accompanied by the ticking of the pendulum, the elder sister Agnes lying on the hospital bed is pale and weak. In this scene, not only time has passed, but also the last time of her life. Agnes' two younger sisters, Karin and Maria, came to take care of her with her servant Anna, as she was seriously ill. In the end, Agnes died and the song ended. As Anna recites Agnes's diary, the camera returns to the beginning of the film again: in the warm sunshine, in the green suburbs, the three sisters sit together on the rocking chair, whispering and laughing, Anna beside Push them gently.
2. Characters and Characters
Bergman arranged a memory (or imagination) for each of the four women to explain their stories and characters. Bergman used a very concise method to accurately outline the characters of these four characters in an extremely profound and clear manner.
Big sister Agnes recalls her childhood. Unlike the other sisters, who are full of laughter and laughter, Agnes is taciturn, and she is obsessed with her mysterious mother. Through her own empathy, Agnes finally understood her mother, the bone-breaking loneliness. Agnes was surrounded by loneliness from childhood until his death.
The second sister, Karin, is married to a diplomat, and she feels she is living in a huge lie, full of pain and unable to extricate herself. She brutally hurt her own body just to protest to her husband.
The third sister Maria has a memory and a fantasy. Maria recalls flirting with doctor David and fantasizes about her husband committing suicide and calling for help. The doctor refused her temptation, and she also refused to rescue her dying husband.
The servant Anna is completely different from them. She has lost her daughter, she believes in God, and she is pure and kind. In her fantasies, Agnes came back to life after her death. Agnes, who has returned to her soul, still feels pain and loneliness, and she tries to get closer to her sisters. The second sister Karin indifferently rejected Agnes: If I loved you I would do it, but I don't love you. The third sister, Maria, agreed to Agnes' request, approached her sister and reminisced about their childhood, and then when Agnes tried to hug and kiss her, Maria screamed and ran away - revealing that Maria's love for her sister was only limited to is present on the surface. Only Anna, yes, kind and holy Anna gave Agnes the last tenderness - she opened her clothes, put Agnes gently in her arms and comforted her softly. No matter when Agnes was alive or after her death, the only one who really cared about her and loved her was Anna. In this remarkable video, Bergman firmly grasps everyone's soul and places it before the eyes of every viewer.
The eldest sister Agnes has never been married, her illness has been tormenting her, and her loneliness has continued to devour her. Only in the memory, only in the imagination, only by Anna's side, can she enjoy a moment of happiness and peace, and there is only pain and loneliness.
The second sister, Karin, loves to read and think, and is the most knowledgeable, but her character is cold and proud. She also longs for understanding and warmth, but opening her heart again and again brings lies and hurts (from her husband and sister Maria), and in order to protect herself, she has to hide herself. She hides so deeply, just like the layers of intricate clothes she wears. She refused to open her heart, refused to communicate, refused to touch, she even scolded Anna harshly for not looking her in the eyes. Deep in Karin's cold heart, there is a lonely heart. There's a great shot in the film where Bergman puts Karin and Maria in the same frame: Karin and Maria talking softly, stroking and kissing each other. At this moment, there is no distance between their bodies, and there is no distance between their minds. Bergman was so appreciative and nostalgic for this beautiful scene that he was reluctant to move the camera away.
The third sister Maria is undoubtedly selfish and false. Doctor David sees through this, so she categorically rejects her temptation. Karin is cold but at least true, Maria is full of false feelings and falsehoods: whether it is her husband, the doctor David, and her two sisters. She only cares about herself, only loves herself, and deliberately hides it. She was hypocritical to her husband because he could give her honorary status and material guarantees; she was hypocritical to the doctor because she was driven by lust; she was hypocritical to Agnes, abandoning her when Agnes needed her most; Karin's tenderness was revealed the next day - she was just taking advantage of Karin.
The three sisters have different personalities, but deep down in their souls, the loneliness and pain are the same. Aren't we the same?
The servant Anna always exudes kindness and holiness. The picture of her holding Agnes in her arms and comforting her softly resembles the Virgin Mary. Her existence is almost the audience's last hope - it is precisely because of the existence of this power that we, who are struggling in humility, pain, confusion, loneliness and helplessness, still have the confidence to go through the darkness and move towards hope. Because of her sincere belief in God, she no longer grieves for the loss of her daughter; because of her pure and kind heart, she is not afraid of death. I can't imagine how hopeless this movie would be without Anna.
3. Color
Bergman once said that all his films can be constructed and expressed in black and white images, but "Cries and Whispers" cannot. In this film, Bergman is so obsessed with color and takes the ideographic function of color to the extreme. Such bold use of color is rarely seen in Bergman's other works.
According to Bergman, red is the color closest to the soul. The background color of the screen at the beginning and end of the film, the walls, curtains, carpets, etc. in the room are all red. People walk through the red room, like souls slowly drifting by. Through the red transition montage effect, Bergman penetrates the characters' faces straight to their souls.
White represents purity and represents life. When Agnes was alive, in those beautiful pictures she imagined, everyone was dressed in white, like angels.
Black represents depression and death. When Agnes died, everyone wore black clothes and was dead silent. Before the two sisters left the house, they put the black veil off their faces. In the end, they chose to close themselves and block others.
Green represents vitality and vitality. There are only three shots with green in the film, the opening and closing shots, and the one in the middle where Agnes opens the window to look at the scenery. The green of the first shot is used to contrast with the red, white and black of the room that follows; the green of the second shot is used to contrast with Agnes's dying life; the green of the last shot exists only in memories Here, short and beautiful, it is more sad than reality.
4. Metaphors
Bergman uses a lot of metaphors in this film, here are just two examples:
First, is the picture of Anna holding Agnes very similar to "The Virgin with the Child"?
Second, did Anna and Karin and Maria organize Agnes' body as if the saints had rescued Jesus from the cross?
If so, is Bergman implying that Agnes is Jesus and Anna is the Virgin Mary? And are Karin, Maria, Anna, and the pastor's actions towards Agnes a true reflection of their face to God?
5. Themes
We are afraid of loneliness and loneliness; we look forward to communication and understanding, longing for happiness and happiness, we are so eager to love and be loved, but we can't express them - those heart-piercing cries, those whispering whispers, did you hear them? ? Did you hear that? Do you understand?
For the full version, see: http://i.mtime.com/peng2j/blog/7785092/
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