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Comments 1 - 8 of 8

Prof. Lumpcicle's avatar

Prof. Lumpcicle

Nothing crushes the spirit of love more than responsibilities.
10 years 8 months ago
Imogen's avatar

Imogen

A lovely little bittersweet romance story. :D
12 years 3 months ago
Andrewski's avatar

Andrewski

I’m glad I went in with no expectations and ideas about what this would entail because this was quite a ride. The second act hit me in a very personal way, and how tenderly and affectionately it was handled was moving, even if I knew already that the summer would end.

The last act was heartbreaking, and while I read some reviews about Bergman being smitten enough by Andersson to have let Monika off the hook, I didn’t get that impression myself. It was nuanced enough to relate to both Monika and Harry, but I don’t know how anyone could come away from that thinking Monika was completely blameless. (If nothing else, her duplicity toward Harry’s aunt was enough to show that she wasn’t at peace with her choices.) 


Anyway, from Bergman’s early movies this one emerges in a very personal and empathetic way, and it resonates deeply. That’s what I show up for.
4 years 1 month ago
auvajs's avatar

auvajs

best of Bergman's films up to 1953 I guess
13 years ago
Siskoid's avatar

Siskoid

Though evidently an important early international hit for Ingmar Bergman, Summer with Monika today seems to me a little underwhelming exactly BECAUSE of the things that made it a hit in 1953 (its mainstream appeal). And the fact that while in the 50s, America was perhaps not ready for such a frank look at young love (booty shots and all), later audiences would see it a lot more. And still, there's something very compelling about Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg's young lovers, and how much of a mess they are. In one way, this is Bergman's Romeo and Juliet, not star-crossed, but making poor decisions, motivated by a naive, over-romanticized world view, with no thought to the consequences - the tragedy here being that Harry is able to grow out of it, but Monika refuses to. In another way, and knowing his interest in religious studies, it's Bergman's Adam and Eve, living wild for that Edenic summer, awaiting the Fall (though whether the pun exists in Swedish is unknown to me) - something each of us repeats between various states of innocence and awareness of a loss.
1 year 8 months ago
Jumping Elephant's avatar

Jumping Elephant

aka "Summer with Monika"
13 years ago
johnnyg's avatar

johnnyg

Now on Criterion's Hulu Plus channel "in HD"
12 years 10 months ago
Limbesdautomne's avatar

Limbesdautomne

Bergman invents the tan line in cinema and the French critics think it's the best line that he's ever written.

Read more in French on La Saveur des goûts amers
5 years 1 month ago
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