Complete credited cast: | |||
Åke Grönberg | ... | Albert Johansson | |
Harriet Andersson | ... | Anne | |
Hasse Ekman | ... | Frans | |
Anders Ek | ... | Frost | |
Gudrun Brost | ... | Alma | |
Annika Tretow | ... | Agda | |
Erik Strandmark | ... | Jens | |
Gunnar Björnstrand | ... | Mr. Sjuberg | |
Curt Löwgren | ... | Blom | |
Kiki | ... | The Dwarf |
While traveling in caravan through the country of Sweden, one member of the decadent Alberti Circus tells the owner and ringmaster Albert Johansson a sad story about the clown Frost: seven years ago, his wife Alma was surprised by him bathing naked in a lake with a regiment. When the circus arrives in the town where Albert's wife Agda and sons live, he decides to pay a visit with his young mistress Anne to a famous local troupe to borrow some capes, hats and vests for their tonight show. They are humiliated by the director Mr. Sjuberg, but he lends the pieces, and the lead actor Frans gives an unsuccessful pass on Anne. When Albert decides to visit Agda, the jealous Anne meets Frans, who seduces her with an apparently valuable necklace, and they have a love affair. Anne finds that the necklace is actually worthless and returns to the circus. Meanwhile, Agda refuses to accept Albert back and he sees Anne leaving the theater and going to the jewelry. During the exhibition, Albert and ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Another one of Ingmar Bergman's best films, this one involves a shoddy, flea-bitten circus early in the 20th Century. Ake Gronberg is the ringleader and Harriet Andersson his young, beautiful second wife. The failing circus arrives in the town where Gronberg left his first wife, who has since become a successful shop owner, and two sons. While he's away visiting them, Andersson, who (rightly) believes he is trying to dump her for a comfortable home life, sneaks off to the local theater, hoping she can hook up with an actor and leave the circus herself. This film is a constant stream of humiliation - but, as cruel as it gets, it never feels like Bergman is mocking these characters. They are quite likable, as pathetic as they are, and you suffer along with them. It's pretty much a perfect film. Shot for shot, I am in awe of it. And each performance is one for the ages. Anders Ek in particular is memorable as a rubber-faced, alcoholic clown. A flashback near the beginning of the film where he humiliates himself to protect his wife from the leering of soldiers (which she gladly invites) is one of the most gruelling sequences in the cinema - and yet it's only the beginning.