Summer with Monika [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Ingmar Bergman Ingmar Bergman

Overview

An innocent youth finds love and, eventually, heartbreak in this film, which ranks among Ingmar Bergman's simplest and most unaffected. Harry (Lars Ekborg), the unworldly, unhappy hero, suffers at his job and in his personal life. Then he falls in love with the superficial Monika (Harriet Andersson), who shows little capacity for sensitivity but radiates carnality. Defying the repressive, degrading ways of adult society, the couple flees from the city, their responsibilities, and their problems by stealing a boat and retreating to an island, where they live free of inhibitions or social restrictions. But when the glorious summer comes to an end, the young couple is compelled to return to the city, where their relationship soon disintegrates. Monika gives birth to their child but shows little parental inclination, preferring to sleep late and lounge about. Harry, meanwhile, tries to provide support. Bored, Monika eventually finds another lover, whereupon Harry moves his child from their filthy apartment and determines to make a better life. With its agreeable lead actress and its unadorned style, Sommaren med Monika constitutes one of Bergman's most immediate and accessible films. Harriet Andersson, who became a Bergman regular, shows an unabashed sexuality that would serve her well in subsequent films, and she reveals a canny ability to maintain audience interest, if not sympathy, for a character that is ultimately unappealing, even repellant. Bergman allows Andersson's performance to dominate the film. He generally abstains from emphatic lighting or provocative angles, preferring to accommodate his actress with rich close-ups and sunlit portraits. Andersson's compelling performance, together with the film's idyllic island setting and Bergman's unfailing direction, renders Sommaren med Monika an impressive, noteworthy work.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/29/2012
UPC:	0715515095914
Original Release:	1951
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:37:00
Sales rank:	16,333

Special Features

Introduction by director Ingmar Bergman; Interview with actress Harriet Anderson, conducted by film scholar Peter Cowie; Interview with film scholar Eric Schaefer about Kroger Babb and his distribution of Monika, the story of a bad girl as an exploitation film; Images from the Playground, a half-hour documentary by Stig Björkman featuring behind-the-scenes footage shot by Bergman, archival audio interviews with Bermgna, and new interviews with actresses Bibi Anderson and Harriet Anderson; Trailer; Plus: a booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Laura Hubner, a 1958 review by filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, and a publicity piece from 1953 in which Bergman interviews himself

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Harriet Andersson	Monika,Beer drinker
Lars Ekborg	Harry
John Harryson	Lelle
Georg Skarstedt	Harry's Father,Actor
Dagmar Ebbesen	Harold's Aunt
Ake Fridell	Monika's Father
Naemi Briese	Monika's Mother
Gosta Eriksson	Manager
Ake Gronberg	Foreman
Ivar Wahlgren	Villager
Renee Bjorling	Villager's Wife
Catrin Westerlund	Villager's Daughter
Bengt Brunskog	Sicke
Sigge Fürst	Porcelain Warehouse Worker
Gösta Prüzelius	Salesman
Arthur Fischer	Vegetable Warehouse Owner
Torsten Lilliecrona	The Driver
Hanny Schedin	Mrs. Boman
Gustaf Faringborg	Second Man
Sigge Fuerst	Employee in glass shop
Gosta Prnzelius	Employee in glass shop
Tor Borong	Second-hand salesman
Ernst Brunman	The Tobacconist
Bengt Eklund	Vegetable store worker
Carl-Axel Elfving	Worker
Magnus Kesster	Worker
Astrid Bodin	Woman in window
Mona Geijer-Falkner	Woman in window
Goesta Gustafsson	The Cashier
Goesta Pruezelius	The Salesman
Harry Anderson	Actor
Erik Nordgren	Composer
Les Baxter	Composer
E. Eckert-Lundin	Composer

Technical Credits

Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman	Director,Screenwriter
Allan Ekelund	Producer