Fanny and Alexander (1982)
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Fanny and Alexander Movie Review
Fanny and Alexander is a 1982 Swedish period drama directed by Ingmar Bergman. It’s such an intriguing experience and easily the director’s finest achievement.
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“Therefore let us be happy while we are happy.
Let us be kind, generous, affectionate and good.
It is necessary and not at all shameful to take pleasure in the little world“
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It sounds simple on the surface. The father in the family dies, the mother remarries and the new father is strict and abusive toward children. However, the movie is so much more than that admittedly familiar premise. It is a film about family conflict that has some parallels to religion as well as Hamlet. It is a magic realist film as well, but in my personal opinion Alexander imagined those supernatural occurrences as his artistic, imaginative mind is influenced by Bergman himself.
The major reason why Fanny and Alexander works so magnificently lies in its execution and approach. I am personally not the biggest fan of Bergman so this being somewhat of a departure from his style worked wonders for me. The film is still highly artistic and certainly the work of a major artist, but it is also very approachable as anyone can enjoy it.
It is so immersive that it held my attention throughout its whole very long runtime. It’s rare for me to not get bored me a three-hour long movie, but I never did watching this highly intriguing, so well thought out story play in front of my eyes. The same goes for its tone which is still immensely cold at times, but also frequently heartwarming and moving. Thus the movie is a perfect mix of new and old in the director’s style.
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The character development is very strong. The film has a high number of characters and I found both the Ekdahhls and the Vergerus a memorable bunch, but the highlights are Bishop Edward who’s too villainous at first, but eventually a bit humanized. He still remains a powerful villain for the movie though. Their mother is such a relatable woman and of course Alexander is the heart and soul of the film. I did find underutilized Fanny problematic. She’s in the movie’s title, yet she did not get much to do in the final product. Ismael, though, is a highly memorable intriguing presence as he’s mysterious and interestingly played by a woman.
Fanny and Alexander is so well acted across the board with the highlights being Mona Malm, moving Gunn Wallgren, effectively menacing Jan Malmsjo and of course very talented Bertil Guve. As I said before, Ingmar Bergman excelled here as he directed the film with such flair, confidence and style that it easily led to his magnum opus. He has made some very good movies during the sixties and seventies, but nothing on this incredible level of quality.
The film is incredibly meticulous in its approach. In fact, it is so overwhelmingly detailed in every single scene and plot point that it becomes a bit exhausting at times leading to a film that admittedly would have worked much better as a television series. Especially that first third of the film which here is a bit too long, but still immensely charming and amusing.
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The cinematography is truly striking as some of the imagery is gorgeous to behold and immaculately composed leading to such a terrific recreation of its time period. The costumes are also fantastic as is the score. The editing is mostly very strong for such a long film and the dialogue is excellent throughout. But its intriguingly mysterious, cold and magical atmosphere is the standout as the film acts almost like a fairy tale in a way, and a highly fascinating one at that. It deserved all of its Oscar nominations and maybe it should have won them all.
Fanny and Alexander is so overwhelmingly meticulous in detail that it would have worked better as a television series. The film is incredibly immersive despite its very long runtime and it is still an artistic and cold Bergman film, but with warmth and consistent entertainment value too as it manages to hold your attention completely how intriguingly plotted it is. It’s a deep, thematically complex and beautifully shot period piece that is without a doubt the director’s magnum opus.
