The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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.

A circus caravan crawls along the gloomy Swedish countryside. Inside their trailer are portly ringmaster Ake Gronberg (as Albert Johansson) and his younger lover Harriet Andersson (as Anne). After a flashback - which illustrates the film's thesis theme but seems ill-placed - we move along with Mr. Gronberg as he brings his circus to town. This stop is different. This is where his abandoned wife Annika Tretow (as Agda), a tobacco store operator, and their small sons live. Gronberg considers leaving the tired troupe and returning to his more stable family, but he may not be welcome...Meanwhile, Ms. Andersson has been growing bored with Gronberg. Instructed to heave her bosom when the circus needs to borrow some costumes, Andersson also attracts playboy actor Hasse Ekman (as Frans). Filmmaker Ingmar Bergman went on to create unanimously applauded masterpieces, and this is clearly an artistic leap. With cinematographers Sven Nykvist and Hilding Bladh, Mr. Bergman produces some great visuals. And, he elicits peak performances from the aforementioned plus Anders Ek (as Frost) and Gudrun Brost (as Alma), the couple hopelessly trapped in life's circus.******** Gycklarnas afton (9/14/53) Ingmar Bergman ~ Ake Gronberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek

While traveling in caravan through the country of Sweden, one member of the decadent Alberti Circus tells the owner and ringmaster Albert Johansson (Åke Grönberg) a sad story about the clown Frost (Anders Ek): seven years ago, his wife Alma (Gudrun Brost) was surprised by him bathing naked in a lake with a regiment. When the circus arrives in the town where Albert's wife Agda (Annika Tretow) and sons live, he decides to pay a visit with his young mistress Anne (Harriet Andersson) to a famous local troupe to borrow some capes, hats and vests for their tonight show. They are humiliated by the director Mr. Sjuberg (Gunnar Björnstrand), but he lends the pieces, and the lead actor Frans (Hasse Ekman) 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 Anne are submitted to humiliations by Frans."Gycklarnas Afton" is a dark and unpleasant story of the cruelty of mankind, where losers, desperate people without any perspective in life, are humiliated by the cruel human beings, reaching the lowest human condition. The clown Frost and his decadent wife Alma; the aging and tired owner of the circus trying reconciliation with his former wife to have a stable life; the mistress Anne trying to find another man to support her; all of them stuck together in a decadent circus due to the lack of perspective in life and courage of committing suicide. The cinematography in black and white is amazingly beautiful, and the introduction sequence, with the caravan moving in the dawn, is very similar to Brazilian classic "O Cangaceiro" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045595/), of the same year. Harriet Andersson is extremely sexy and gorgeous in the role of Anne. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Noites de Circo" ("Nights of Circus")

This is not a bad film, though it certainly isn't exactly up to the standards of much of Ingmar Bergman's work. While I really liked the juxtaposition of the two plots (the mistress seeking out a new lover while her old lover was seeking a reconciliation with his wife), much of the story seemed rather muddled and uninteresting. It's hard to imagine a story about the circus being dull, but from time to time it sure felt that way. In fact, at one point one of the leads threatened to kill himself and I was actually hoping he would--just to give this movie a little more life. This isn't to say that I dislike Bergman's older films--several of them were quite magical--just not this one.While you may enjoy the film, there are certainly other Bergman films that are far more interesting, such as Wild Strawberries, The 7th Sign, Monika and Autumn Sonata, just to name a few.