Hang in there we're getting to the end of this Ingmar Bergman mini film fest. With Fanny and Alexander, Bergman announced this would be his final film. Hyperbole being what it is from film directors, he went on to make a few more films although they were primarily for Swedish Television. It's probably more accurate to say this was Bergman's final theatrical film.
In recent years Bergman had been challenged to find financing for his films. In order to get this film made he agreed to make two versions, a television mini series that runs over five hours and a theatrical version that runs almost three hours. Apparently Bergman preferred the television version of this film.
The film tells the story of the Ekdahls an upper class family living in Uppsala, Sweden. The Ekdahls own a theater which is managed by one of the sons of Helena Ekdahl (the matriarch of the family) named Oscar. Oscar and his wife Emilie in addition to running the theater are also performers. They have two children, Fanny and Alexander. Alexander is a boy with a very vivid imagination which will bring him a lot of trouble.
The film starts with an extended scene of a Christmas party at the Ekdahl home where all is happiness and joy. But this is an Ingmar Bergman film and in the second act of the film Oscar suffers a heart attack and passes away. Cue the entrance of the chief villain of this film the Lutheran Bishop Edvard Vergérus a character so frightening he could be in a Wes Craven film. For reasons that would take to long to explain and are actually kind of unbelievable the grieving widow Helena ends up marrying the bishop and moves into his very austere residence along with her two children.
The film gets very harrowing at this point as the Bishop turns out to be a tyrannical figure who takes out most of his anger on Alexander. In some very brutal scenes, the bishop physically punishes Alexander to the point of drawing blood from the ten year old child. The remainder of the film involves the Ekdahl's attempts to rescue Fanny, Alexander and Helena from the Bishop's household.
At this point in Bergman's career a lot was known about his early life growing up with a father who was a strict Lutheran minister. The character of the Bishop is clearly based on Bergman's father and Alexander is obviously a stand in for a young Ingmar Bergman.
Fanny and Alexander is one of Bergman's best looking films. The photography by Sven Nyquist is excellent and the sets and costumes are a real treat to look at. The film is a mixture of new and old actors who Bergman had worked with in the past. Jari Kulle, Gunnar Björnstrand, Erland Josephson, and Harriett Andersson were part of his famous stock company. Incredibly Liv Ullmann and Max Von Sydow turned down roles in this film.
Fanny and Alexander is in many ways a rehash of Bergman's favorite themes but it's a well made and involving film even in the extended television version.
The film was written by Ingmar Bergman. The running time for the theatrical version is 188 minutes, the television version runs 312 minutes.