Cries and Whispers (1972)

Ingmar Bergman, why haven't I given up on you yet? Your works are prized in intellectual circles, but I've seen plenty by now and even my favorite feels hit and miss to me. I knew going into this that my chance of enjoying the viewing, or even feeling that I didn't waste my time, was less than 50%. Still, if I had to try it, immediately after two uplifting features was the right time.

Like in Autumn Sonata, the focus is on the interactions among mostly related women, with only occasional male input and very little plot progression. Basically everything happens inside the mansion where three sisters grew up, to which they have returned because one of them, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), has uterine cancer, in an era when not much could be done about it. Maid Anna (Kari Sylwan) can't be the only caretaker anymore. As they wait for the dying to end, Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin) also reminisce.

Autumn Sonata (1978)

This is only the second Ingmar Bergman film I've seen in color, as well as the first with dubbing rather than subtitles, because that's what the DVD offered. The dub dialog is finely chosen, but the accents are so heavy that I didn't immediately realize it was English. Regardless, I could appreciate the advantage of not having to read the whole time, even if I had to remind myself not to get distracted by the slight disconnect between the words and the lip movements.

Famed pianist Charlotte (Ingrid Bergman, with the similarly named but unrelated director for once) visits her eldest daughter, Eva (Liv Ullmann), for the first time in ages. She is unpleasantly surprised to find her other daughter, Helena (Lena Nyman), living there too. Helena has limited mobility and apparently some sort of brain damage, her speech rarely intelligible to anyone but Eva. Eva's husband, Viktor (Halvar Björk), is also present but mostly keeps to himself, especially when Charlotte and Eva are conversing, since these two have considerable issues with each other.

Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)

When I think of Ingmar Bergman, I think of bleak brooding. Sometimes his artistry makes it worth my while, and sometimes I wish I hadn't bothered. I chose this viewing at the time for the word "summer," but I put it on my queue in the first place because I had to see what a Bergman romantic comedy would be like. Especially one that inspired a Woody Allen comedy.

Circa 1900, a group of adults gets together for a typical Swedish solstice celebration. What makes it unusual is that the hostess, Desiree, invited them specifically to sort out their relationship troubles. They include Fredrik, who used to have an affair with her; his much younger virgin wife, Anne; his adult son, Henrik, who wants to be a minister but has mutual feelings for Anne; servant Petra, who wants Henrik; Count Carl-Magnus, who currently has an affair with Desiree and the military might to intimidate romantic rivals; and Countess Charlotte, who loves Carl-Magnus regardless.