Ansiktet (1958)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.7/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Guionista:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

27 agosto 1959 (USA)

Género:

Drama

Frase comercial:

Into the Nether-World! You'll Gasp At This Occult Hypnotic Experience Into the Supernatural!

Plot:

When 'Vogler's Magnetic Health Theater' comes to town, there's bound to be a spectacle. Reading reports...

Plot Keywords:

Parable | 1800s | Illusion | Magician

Premios:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

satisfying on many levels: a reflection on Bergamn as illusionist

Reparto

Max von Sydow	...	Albert Emanuel Vogler
Ingrid Thulin	...	Manda Vogler (alias Mr. Aman)
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Dr. Vergerus, Minister of Health
Naima Wifstrand	...	Granny Vogler
Bengt Ekerot	...	Johan Spegel
Bibi Andersson	...	Sara Lindqvist
Gertrud Fridh	...	Ottilia Egerman
Lars Ekborg	...	Simson, the coach driver
Toivo Pawlo	...	Police Superintendant Starbeck
Erland Josephson	...	Consul Egerman
Åke Fridell	...	Tubal
Sif Ruud	...	Sofia Garp
Oscar Ljung	...	Antonsson, burly stableman
Ulla Sjöblom	...	Henrietta Starbeck
Axel Düberg	...	Rustan, young manservant

También conocida como:

The Face (UK)
The Magician (USA)
El mago (Argentina) [es]
El rostro (Spain) [es]

Duración:

100 min | UK:107 min

País:

Sweden

Idioma:

Sueco

Color:

Negro y Blanco

Sonido:

AGA Sound System

Clasificación:

Finland:K-16 | UK:PG (video rating) (2001) | UK:X

Locaciones de Filmación:

Djurgardsslaten 49-51, Skansen, Djurgården, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Compañía:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivialidades:

Max von Sydow's character Vogler doesn't utter his first word until one hour and three minutes into the film.

Citas:

Johan Spegel: I've prayed one prayer in my life: Use me, O God! But He never understood what a devoted slave I'd have been. So I was never used... But that too is a lie. Step by step you go into the dark. The movement itself is the only truth.

satisfying on many levels: a reflection on Bergamn as illusionist

Many people may have missed the satisfaction of reading the extra layer of meaning in this film: that the "magician" is the the filmmaker or visa versa, in this case Bergman himself. Without giving anything of the plot away, I can say that The Magician is a reflection on Bergamn's role as a creator of illusions. He uses the story of a roving theatrical troupe with an magician to illuminate the metaphor. The apparently abrupt turn of events at the end is Bergman's signal that he is the master of your perceptions in this medium, that he compares to the experience of dreaming.

It is interesting to compare this film with Fellini's 8 1/2, another filmmaker's reflection on the process and meaning of film-making. Two very different sensibilities are at work in these two films, but with surprisingly close parallels in their endings, and involuted plots.

I found this film highly satisfying on many levels, even taken at its apparent face value, as a romp. Seen a second time the illusionist begins to emerge more clearly, from the moment the film opens, with the lighting of the arc lamp of a film projector.