Revisiting Autumn Sonata

I normally restrict my film-watching to the weekend these days but last night I had the rare pleasure of watching a film on a weeknight, courtesy of Criterion’s Autumn Sonata Blu. Extraordinary performances from Liv Ullman and Ingrid Bergman, when Eva finally unleashes her rage on her mother I sat mesmerized, wondering how both actresses could enter that space, that mind set - Olivier would have wryly commented, “Try acting” but what an incredible high-wire act. Another memorable moment in the film, a short but very disturbing dream sequence where Ingrid Bergman’s character imagines strange hands grasping at her while she sleeps makes me wonder what Bergman might have done with a full blown Horror film. The next job of work is to catch the three and a half hour Making of Autumn Sonata which is an exciting and daunting prospect…