Director: Ingmar Bergman
Rating: 8 out of 10
Surely the most thought provoking film on my slate so far, Hour of the Wolf probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. But this is my opportunity to show a few people who Ingmar Bergman is, despite this not being one of his greatest films. Mr. Bergman is Swedish, and as such, he makes Swedish films, usually with his long-time leading man, Max Von Sydow (Fr. Merrin from The Exorcist). Also present is his frequent leading lady, Liv Ullman, and this is their story.
Von Sydow plays a struggling artist, Johan, who lives with his wife of 7 years, Alma, on an ocean-side piece of farm-land on a secluded island. We learn pretty early that this artist is a bit of a tortured soul (as so many artists are); he has a sketch book filled with drawings of creepy visions he's been having in his sleep lately. He's so terrified of these visions that he makes his wife stay up all night with him until dawn, just after the hour of the wolf, then they go to sleep. Eventually he's approached by the owner of the island and is invited to a dinner at his castle. Now, here's where we meet a cast of surreal characters that fit the description of some of his terrifying delusions. The inclusion of Alma in the proceedings, and her social interaction with these people, leads to the question of whether or not Johan's delusions are manifesting themselves in Alma's mind as well. There's definitely some weirdness in these scenes with the overlapping dialogue and frantic pointlessness to the conversations. But it's obvious the ocassion is driving our two main characters a little insane, if they're not there already. At the end of the party we learn of a woman from Johan's history, a woman we find out later had an illicit affair with Jonah, causing great pain and embarassment for him. His obsession with her seems to be the fuel for the delusions he's having, as eventually we are treated to a very surreal meeting of the two former lovers in the castle.
There's no real horror in this flick, save for a pretty violent incident during an encounter with a young boy while Johan is fishing. I'm more including it in the hope that this will open a door into the world of Ingmar Bergman. It's a tough watch if you're not familiar with his work. It certainly lacks the narrative structure we're used to in cinema these days, but there's no denying the power of the images and ideas thrown up on the screen. The question in this film, as posed by Alma, is if you spend a long enough time with someone, do you begin to look, feel, think, and have similar traits as that person? We learn early on that Johan is having haunting visions and is possibly off his rocker, but the inclusion of Alma during interactions with these people certainly sparks interest in her continued mental well-being. It's rare that Bergman answers his own questions, and this is no exception, but it comes the closest that I've seen so far.
Next: Eraserhead
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