It's always interesting and fascinating to see filmmakers using their talents to compose different filmed experiences either being music
videos, film trailers, or advertisings, whether being early steps prior to filmmaking or even during the peak of their careers. By the time legendary
Ingmar Bergman made a series of commercials for the soap brand "Bris" in the early 1950's he had a good cinema and theatre resume but far from
the highly artistic, universal and philosophical masterpieces he'd became famous in the following years and decades ("Wild Strawberries", "The
Seventh Seal" and the impressive list goes on). It's an unusual path for him to travel through, so let's think that he was only in it for the
money yet he managed to deliver quality material with those ads.
A series of 10 commercials going with similar concepts and formulas, using of a great sense of humor and a great sense of creativity with
elaborated sets (great budget for those too), amusing stories that can go back in historical settings of kings and queens, or the typical modern commercial with a smiling
host presenting the benefits of Bris soap, often told in a few of the piece that it's really effective against bacteria (the only word I could
easily understand, as I don't speak Swedish. But the term was so repetitive in one of the ads that it became hilarious).
The effect of those ads today are so-and-so, as most audiences are used to see spectacular kind of ads and many film directors went that
way (Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Godard, Wes Anderson and many others). The one that impressed me based on idea and editing tricks is one where
two actors play germs who are attacked by the product. It was a cool idea that didn't depend on animation (as it became the rule with similar
products). Not sure if knowing what's being said would improve viewing, but one can say it's easy to follow and figure out what's going on - I
might have missed the jokes but no worries. It was still enjoyable to see this lovely compilation. 6/10.
