6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brutally Honest Dysfunctional Characters Compel Attention, May 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: From the Life of the Marionettes [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Why Watch This Film?
Most appealing in this movie, and what makes it really worth a thoughtful watch, is the honesty of the characters. This almost compulsive honesty provides deep insights into the characters. As unappealing as they might be as neighbors, the characters are interesting and compel your attention.
The Characters
The characters are not the cardboard cutouts being manipulated through a plot that frequent many scripts. The characters are multifaceted three dimensional personalities. In one instance a character answers a question during the police interview and gives numerous explanations for his actions, all of which are true. This building of depth makes sympathetic characters that other wise would be simply pathetic.
Structure
A recurring feature of the film is the use of the police interview. This is used to tie together various pieces of the story. The interviews are used as a vehicle for flashbacks that tell the story. In addition to flashbacks and interviews, Bergman makes use of dreams to add depth to his characters. The dreams are photographed beautifully. There is a surreal quality that slowly changes to stark realism as the dream reaches it climax. This is very subtle and quite effective.
The Story
The story itself is tragic. Fatal flaws abound in almost all the characters. No hero here. Dependency and habit bind a man and a woman together in a mockery of a loving marriage. The effects this has on the relationship and those surrounding it are explored.
The Setting
The contemporary urban setting is not unknown in Bergman's work but it is not the most common situation for his films. The film makes much of the noise of the city, the un-natural urban surroundings, the skewing of schedules that urban life requires. More than a mere setting, the city takes on a role. It is as if the locale is a character, one that contributes no small amount to the descent of the other characters in the film.
Bergmania
For those familiar with Bergman's work there is much that is. Among the familiar are some names that have been recycled from previous films (Eggerman for example). There is the usual use of ticking clocks, and marital infidelity. The characters are ordinary in many ways and extraordinary in their flaws. Life, death and madness are a part of most of Bergman's work. This is no exception.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IN MEMORIAM OF A GENIUS OF CINEMA!, July 31, 2007
With The sudden and sad departure of this emblematic filmmaker, vanishes at the same time the legitimate son of the existential anguish, Bergman may be regarded as the spiritual son of August Strindberg. As we know about, the genius is composed of so many lives, livings and influences that it results extremely difficult to label in a special category, but no other filmmaker walked over so many marshes of the human condition, where the ontological loneliness, submission, childhood traumas, and the entire exploration of so many inner demons into what we might design as collective unconscious were motive of febrile inspiration to convey us to the same entrails of desperation and agonic anxiety, nobody like him will be able to mirror with such prodigious realism the inextricable labyrinths of the human soul.
From life of the marionettes is indeed, one of his highest peaks in what concerns form and vital expression, a fascinating journey around the febrile anguish of a schizophrenic, featured with the deepest horridness. The claustrophobic environment, the handle of the camera - eye as incorporeal witness of his terrible condition makes of this film, unique in its own.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Once more enter the darkness and meet Bergman., February 28, 2003
"From the life of Marionettes" is a dark tale told by its multiple and unreliable characters. The plot begins with a shocking event through which the main character is introduced, where the audience is forced to judge him by the face value. What comes after is one of the most beautiful manifestations of Bergmanian prophecies: liberal, bitter, and extremely dark. This is a psychological hallucination, a bizzare experience in human relationship. Watch and levitate.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
