ALL THESE WOMEN
d. Ingmar Bergman, 1964

15 September 2007

We screened ALL THESE WOMEN after a lull in Bergmania, a pause due in part to being aware of the film's reputation, which is overwhelmingly negative among Bergman fans. I've shrugged off many "worst films by renowned directors," including Robert Altman's much-maligned DR. T. AND THE WOMEN which shares themes in common with ALL THESE WOMEN. I actively like DR. T. and usually find much to like even in Bergman's minor works, so I came to this hoping to discover, at worst, a misunderstood minor work.

A smug, worshipful music critic visits a renowned cellist at the musician's palatial summer home, intending to write the man's biography.

His access to the cellist's company is blocked at every turn by the man's many women - ex-wives, mistresses, nieces.

At odd moments, Jerry Lewis-esque things happen. Something Bergman is constitutionally unable to pull off well.

The admirable thing about ALL THESE WOMEN is that it is without compromise. Whatever Bergman and his troupe were trying to do, they stuck to the plan from beginning to end. It is deliberate in its details, obviously not a haphazard or thoughtless work. The problem is that it simply does not function as intended. It is a slapstick sex farce which is neither funny nor erotic.

The barbed, multi-layered comic and erotic tensions of SMILES OF A SUMMER'S NIGHT are nowhere to be found. Random lines of dialogue are individually funny, but fail to flow together. None of the performers do anything that can be singled out as wrong, but they all seem to be largely unaware of each other's presence. Given that the pampered, cultivated ennui of the characters is a major motif of the film, the cool distance between them may be intentional - however, whatever effect was expected is not obvious.

It is baffling to consider ALL THESE WOMEN in context as the film between the astonishing THE SILENCE and PERSONA. But the bafflement itself is somewhat rewarding. Very few directors have filmographies utterly free of failed films - Altman has QUINTET, Fellini has CASANOVA, Antonioni has ZABRISKIE POINT - and I think it is worthwhile to know these works if only for the perspective they bring to the artist's legacy. For this reason I would not recommend avoiding ALL THESE WOMEN, but would suggest leaving it for a time when, having enjoyed enough of Bergman's finer moments, one might be curious to see him at something other than his best.

The most charitable characterization of ALL THESE WOMEN's flaws would be to say that the film was an experiment which simply did not work. Filmed for TV, the production makes use of minimalist sets which are shot in a mannered but nontheless cinematic style. This aspect almost works - it would be a mistake to attribute the film's failure to staginess, as the camera uses the sets in ways which could not happen on stage. Something else is going on here, perhaps an attempt to synthesize stage and film aesthetics through the neither/nor medium of television. Many of the pastel-colored images are beautifully composed and lovely to look at.