Fanny and Alexander
| Fanny and Alexander | |
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Original Swedish release poster
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| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Produced by | Jörn Donner |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Starring | Pernilla Allwin Bertil Guve Börje Ahlstedt Anna Bergman Gunn Wållgren Kristina Adolphson Erland Josephson Mats Bergman Jarl Kulle |
| Music by | Daniel Bell |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Edited by | Sylvia Ingemarsson |
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| Distributed by |
Sandrew Film & Teater (Sweden) Gaumont (France) |
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| Country | Sweden France West Germany |
| Language | Swedish, German |
| Budget | US$6 million |
| Box office | US$6.7 million |
Fanny and Alexander (Swedish: Fanny och Alexander) is a Swedish drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 17 December 1982, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in Uppsala, Sweden in the 1900s. It was originally conceived as a four-part TV movie and cut in that version, spanning 312 minutes; a 188-minute cut version was created later for cinematic release, although this version was in fact the one to be released first. The TV version has since been released as a complete film, and both versions have been shown in theaters throughout the world. The 312-minute cut, at five hours and 12 minutes, is one of the longest cinematic films in history.
Fanny and Alexander is frequently listed among Bergman's greatest works.
The story is set during 1907–09 (with an epilogue in 1910), in the Swedish town of Uppsala where Alexander (Bertil Guve), his sister Fanny (Pernilla Allwin) and their well-to-do family, the Ekdahls, live. The siblings' parents are both involved in theater and are happily married until their father, Oscar (Allan Edwall), suddenly dies from a stroke. Shortly thereafter, their mother, Emilie (Ewa Fröling), marries Edvard Vergérus (Jan Malmsjö), the local bishop and a widower, and moves into his ascetic home where he lives with his mother, sister, aunt and maids.
Emilie initially expects that she will be able to carry over the lavish, joyful qualities of her previous home into the marriage, but realizes that Edvard's harsh authoritarian policies are unshakable. The relationship between the bishop and Alexander is especially cold, as Alexander invents stories, for which Edvard punishes him severely. Edvard immediately confines the children to their bedroom. As a result, Emilie asks for a divorce, which Edvard will not consent to; though she may leave the marriage, legally it will be considered desertion, placing the children in his custody, including the infant to which she will shortly give birth. Meanwhile, the rest of the Ekdahl family has begun to worry about their condition. When Emilie secretly visits her former mother-in-law, Helena (Gunn Wållgren), to explain what has happened, their friend Isak Jacobi (Erland Josephson), helps smuggle the children from the house. They live temporarily with Isak and his nephews in their store.
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Wikipedia