Fanny & Alexander

Greetings, Dear Reader and welcome to a new year for this blog. Not just a new year, but a new decade as well. Yes, we have left the 2010's behind and must now venture forth into the uncharted waters of the 2010's. Best of luck to both of us.
Anyway, I thought I'd begin the 2020's on a positive note. Namely, by doing a little post on one of my favorite movies. So, here we go:

I don't think I've ever mentioned this before, but I am an admirer of the filmography of Ingmar Bergman. Admittedly, I haven't seen everything he made (far from it), but what I have had the opportunity to see has been of a consistently high quality and that there is no doubt to me that Bergman deserves his reputation as a director.

That said, if I had to pick out what is, in my opinion, the man's Magnum Opus, my choice would fall upon the movie that is the subject of this post:

Fanny & Alexander.

Fanny & Alexander exists in two versions; one made for television and a (comparatively) shorter cut released in theaters. Bergman himself considered the TV-version to be the correct one and so, that is the one, I've decided to focus on.

The Film takes place in Sweden in the early years of the 20th Century and focuses on the Ekdahls; a large and wealthy family ruled over by the grand-mother, in general and two of the children in that family: Fanny and her brother Alexander, in particular. Following the death of their father, the children's mother remarries the local Bishop and the three of them move into his home; a place of strict rules and punishments.

The TV-version of Fanny and Alexander lasts for five hours and not once during that time does it feel as if the story is dragging its feet. One major reason for this is the characterization, which is quite simply top-notch. With a few exceptions, pretty much every character that are introduced to the
viewer is well-rounded and interesting.

Take, for example, uncle Karl. While his treatment of his wife and bitter resentment towards his brothers  and self-pity hardly makes him a sympathetic character, we also see him get along well with the children during the Christmas party and much later, it is he who goes to negotiate with the Bishop in order to save his late brother's remarried widow. In short, he's not a cardboard character but a human being with both good and bad aspects to his person and this goes for almost every character in the cast.

Then there's a villain of the story, who stands among the all-time great screen-villains. Bishop Edward Vergerus is, in many ways, the epitome of the wicked step-parent and yet, as horrible as he is, the Bishop never strays into the realm of cartoon villainy, but remains a chillingly believable figure throughout.

At the beginning of this post, I called Fanny & Alexander as one of my favorite movies (or films) and I've kept referring to it as such throughout. However, I would also call it one of my favorite series. While most commonly thought of as a movie, the TV-version was originally intended as a mini-series and can be watched as such. In fact, the DVD/Bluray box-set even refers to it as a "TV-series".

That said, at the end of the day,  no matter what label one chooses to apply to it, one thing remains true: Fanny & Alexander is a masterpiece; an enchanting tale of great richness, covering every human emotion. From hope and joy to fear and terror, aided in no small part by the cinematography of frequent Bergman collaborator Sven Nykvist. If you haven't seen it already, you definitely should and if you have? Watch it again, like most great works, its worth returning to every now and then.