Brink of Life movie storyline. Cecilia Ellius is admitted to a hospital after she has begun badly bleeding during her third month of pregnancy. She is accompanied by her husband, Anders. Before treatment, Cecilia asks Anders if he truly wants the child; Anders replies it is too late to have the discussion.
Cecilia undergoes treatment; when she awakes, she realizes she has had a miscarriage. She tearfully tells hospital staff she had wanted the child but Anders did not, and that she knew the child would not be born with only one loving parent. Anders returns to the hospital, and Cecilia initiates a separation, saying she realized Anders did not truly love her as they arrived at the hospital.
While suffering from illness, Cecilia is comforted by Stina, who is overdue in her pregnancy and is very excited to have her child. Stina and Cecilia share their ward with Hjördis, who was admitted after she began bleeding during pregnancy. Hjördis is not married or engaged to the father of her child, does not want to have it, and does not feel she can tell her unsupportive mother. Hjördis becomes annoyed when hospital staff try to persuade her to bear it. They tell her unmarried young mothers in Sweden no longer face the social stigma they once did, and Hjördis can find a house and daycare. Hjördis tells the head Nurse Brita babies disgust her.
Brink of Life (original Swedish title: Nara Livet) can be described as an Ingmar Bergman potboiler–keeping in mind that a potboiler from Bergman is better than a major production from almost anyone else. Eva Dahlbeck, Ingrid Thulin and Bibi Andersson portray three mothers in a maternity ward. In the course of a few days, each woman reveals to the others their life stories and intimate thoughts. And each wrestles with the decision whether or not to keep their babies or give them up for adoption. Brink of Life was adapted by Bergman from an original story by Ulla Isaakson.
Brink of Life, (Swedish: Nära Livet, and known as So Close to Life in the UK) is a 1958 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman won the Best Director Award and Andersson, Dahlbeck, Ornäs and Thulin won the Best Actress Award at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Eva Dahlbeck, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson, Barbro Hiort, Erland, Max von Sydow, Gunnar Sjöberg, Inga Landgré, Ann-Marie Gyllenspetz, Kristina Adolphson, Margaretha Krook
Screenplay by: Ulla Isaksson
Production Design by: Bibi Lindström
Cinematography by: Max Wilén
Film Editing by: Carl-Olov Skeppstedt
Art Direction by: Hilding Gahnström
Makeup Department: Nils Nittel
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Ajay Film Company (United States), Nordisk Tonefilm (Sweden)
Release Date: March 31, 1958
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