"Shame" is one of the few movies of Bergman about war. Not about a specific war, but about war in general. Maybe Bergman was frustrated that just one scene in his film "Persona" (1966), namely the scene about the burning monk, had linked this film inseparably with the war in Vietnam. "Shame" is also a film that illuminates the war from a civilian perspective and the effects war has on their lives. "Shame" is therefore no film for lovers of patriotism and heroism.
After more than 50 years "Persona" is the better remembered movie from the Bergman oeuvre. Even Bergman himself ultimately had second thoughts about "Shame". It was too ambitious and you can't cover all aspects of war in 100 minutes. That's correct but if that is the standard to meet, no director can ever make a war movie again. For me "Shame" is one of the best war movies I ever saw, with his generic setting and emphasis on the effects on civilians.
The film is about the couple Eva (Liv Ullmann) and Jan (Max von Sydow) Rosenberg. Originally they were musicians, but they have decided to live a sober but quiet life on the countryside. They grow vegetables and have a few chicken. They are really somewhat isolated because their radio is broken and their car is a little shaky. Many reviewers are of the opinion that the marriage between Jan and Eva is bad even befor the war begins (or, more accurate, reaches them). I don't think so. They argue, for example about Jan not managing to repair the radio, but after that they spend a lot of energy to reconcile with one another. They are also able to enjoy the small things in life, for example when they have enough money to buy a bottle of white wine.
But all of sudden their little cottage is right in the frontline. One moment it is controlled by one army, the next moment it is controlled by the other. Eva and Jan find themselves in a situation also described by the Dutch writer Willem Frederik Hermans in his book "The house of refuge" (1952).
The violence of war and the landscape with houses on fire all over the place is really scary and in my opinion more realistic than for example in the second half of "Full metal Jacket" (1987, Stanley Kubrick).
As Bergman himself indicates "Shame" is not so much about the "outer violence" as about the "inner violence". With the inner violence he meant (I think) the fact that pure self preservation dominates the main characters more and more. With it goes inevitably a loss of civilisation. This is true for Eva, who has sex with a military officer for ..., yes for what? For savety?
It is however especially true for Jan. At first he becomes a real coward, in images that reminded me of "Tourist" (2014, Ruben Ostlund)). Later he turns brutal and cruel. These two kinds of behaviour at first seem far removed from each other, but have both an an all-consuming urge for self-preservation as their basis.
The film ends with some stunning images. I won't say a word about them, except that they will not easily be forgotten.
After more than 50 years "Persona" is the better remembered movie from the Bergman oeuvre. Even Bergman himself ultimately had second thoughts about "Shame". It was too ambitious and you can't cover all aspects of war in 100 minutes. That's correct but if that is the standard to meet, no director can ever make a war movie again. For me "Shame" is one of the best war movies I ever saw, with his generic setting and emphasis on the effects on civilians.
The film is about the couple Eva (Liv Ullmann) and Jan (Max von Sydow) Rosenberg. Originally they were musicians, but they have decided to live a sober but quiet life on the countryside. They grow vegetables and have a few chicken. They are really somewhat isolated because their radio is broken and their car is a little shaky. Many reviewers are of the opinion that the marriage between Jan and Eva is bad even befor the war begins (or, more accurate, reaches them). I don't think so. They argue, for example about Jan not managing to repair the radio, but after that they spend a lot of energy to reconcile with one another. They are also able to enjoy the small things in life, for example when they have enough money to buy a bottle of white wine.
But all of sudden their little cottage is right in the frontline. One moment it is controlled by one army, the next moment it is controlled by the other. Eva and Jan find themselves in a situation also described by the Dutch writer Willem Frederik Hermans in his book "The house of refuge" (1952).
The violence of war and the landscape with houses on fire all over the place is really scary and in my opinion more realistic than for example in the second half of "Full metal Jacket" (1987, Stanley Kubrick).
As Bergman himself indicates "Shame" is not so much about the "outer violence" as about the "inner violence". With the inner violence he meant (I think) the fact that pure self preservation dominates the main characters more and more. With it goes inevitably a loss of civilisation. This is true for Eva, who has sex with a military officer for ..., yes for what? For savety?
It is however especially true for Jan. At first he becomes a real coward, in images that reminded me of "Tourist" (2014, Ruben Ostlund)). Later he turns brutal and cruel. These two kinds of behaviour at first seem far removed from each other, but have both an an all-consuming urge for self-preservation as their basis.
The film ends with some stunning images. I won't say a word about them, except that they will not easily be forgotten.