Cries and Whispers (1972)

Review:

“Cries and Whispers” is a painful elegy to death and life and the separations that make them both so terrifying. With this film, Ingmar Bergman continued to prove he was one of a select few film directors who dared look directly into the quagmire of faith and the universe’s indifference.

Set in an old manor at the turn of the 20th century, “Cries and Whispers” is a tale about four women joined together by a common tragedy. Three of the women are sisters. One is a caretaker. Agnes (Harriet Andersson), one of the sisters, is in the final stages of a terminal cancer. It is for her sake that her two sisters come to the manor. They want to take care of her in her last days.

Maria (Liv Ullmann) is the sensual sister. She will provoke Agne’s doctor to rekindle an old affair. Karin (Ingrid Thulin) is the rigid and cold sister, always standing at a distance, almost afraid to approach dying Agnes. Then there is Anna (Kari Sylwan), Agnes' longtime caretaker. She is a woman of faith who cares deeply for the human soul. We see her wake one morning and pray that her dead daughter resides in the salvation of the lord.

Agnes and her death is the centerpiece of “Cries and Whispers.” Ingmar Bergman does not sugarcoat death here. He shows it in all its grim detail, holding the camera on close-ups of Agnes’ agonizing screams and painful expressions. Her death is not an easy thing to watch. Helpless and remote, her sisters witness Agnes suffering but cannot bring themselves to be empathetic or helpful. Only Anna, with her childlike faith and compassion, can provide Agnes with the simple human contact she needs for comfort.

“Cries and Whispers” is a shocking, beautiful film. All four women at one point have a significant flashback that serves to slightly illuminate their current behavior, but ultimately much about them and their relationships is left a mystery. And churning in this mystery are ruminations of illicit sexual behavior, suicidal chaos, and the dread and inescapability of isolation.

Most movies have the distinct feeling of a prose narrative, wrought with detail and insight, conforming to the structure of rising action and denouement. But sometimes a movie will transcend the prosaic tendency and take on the depth and succinctness of poetry. “Cries and Whispers” is one such movie. It is a grand poem of life and death, faith and loss. Bergman, after all, was never one to explore small themes.

Rating:

On a scale of one to Casablanca this film is a “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989).

Rationalization:
Both of these films have end monologues that serve as a sort of unexpected epilogue. And both of these films show you an array of actions that leave you a little baffled, but suddenly the epilogue is given and the whole meaning of the entire movie seems to shift from underneath your mind. With the end of “Cries and Whispers” you realize that this film is not as despairing as it seems. In fact, you could argue that the end affirms that all suffering and death is vindicated entirely by the gift of life.