Cries and Whispers (1971)

Cries and Whispers (1971)

Taglines: Four women dressed in white in a mansion painted red… haunted by whispers and cries.

Cries and Whispers movie storyline. Bergman’s subject is similar to other films, but we see that he uses a different style as a mise-en-scene. Makes the expression of film through colors. White, red and black color prevails. White is the color of Agnes lying sick in bed. It represents purity, innocence. Bergman says for red: için I used it because it was the color of the soul ”.

The house is completely covered with this decor. The black color is represented as death after Agnes’ death. Sisters and the disconnect between them are discussed. Agnes lacks the warmth and sincerity of her sisters and lives in the patient’s bed. It is Anna who has mercy on Agnes. He comes to Agnes in pain and opens his chest. I see motherhood as the stage where mercy is tried to be told. The rift between the brothers and the clumsy language continues after Agnes’ death. Neither disease nor death can dissolve coldness.

Cries and Whispers (Swedish: Viskningar och rop, lit. ‘Whispers and Cries’) is a 1972 Swedish period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film, set in a mansion at the end of the 19th century, is about three sisters and a servant who struggle with the terminal cancer of one of the sisters (Andersson). The servant (Sylwan) is close to her, while the other two sisters (Ullmann and Thulin) confront their emotional distance from each other.

Inspired by Bergman’s mother, Karin Åkerblom, and his vision of four women in a red room, Cries and Whispers was filmed at Taxinge-Näsby Castle in 1971. Its themes include faith, the female psyche and the search for meaning in suffering, and academics have found Biblical allusions. Unlike previous Bergman films, it uses saturated colour, crimson in particular.

After its premiere in the United States, distributed by Roger Corman and New World Pictures, the film was released in Sweden and screened out of competition at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. Following two unsuccessful films by Bergman, Cries and Whispers was a critical and commercial success. It received five Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture (rare for a foreign-language film). Cinematographer Sven Nykvist won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and Cries and Whispers won the Guldbagge Award for Best Film and other honours.

Cries and Whispers Movie Poster (1971)

Cries and Whispers (1971)

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Henning Moritzen, Erland Josephson, Henning Moritzen, Ingrid Sandell
Screenplay by: Ingmar Bergman
Production Design by: Marik Vos-Lundh
Cinematography by: Sven Nykvist
Film Editing by: Siv Lundgren
Costume Design by: Marik Vos-Lundh
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: New World Pictures
Release Date: December 21, 1972

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