A complex masterpiece that deserves wider recognition.
From the Life of the Marionettes (1980)
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Reviews Counted:9
Fresh:5
Rotten:4
Average Rating:5.3/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Filmed in Germany during the director's exile from Sweden after being charged with tax evasion, FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES is an unusually raw and explicit Ingmar Bergman drama, featuring two... Filmed in Germany during the director's exile from Sweden after being charged with tax evasion, FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES is an unusually raw and explicit Ingmar Bergman drama, featuring two supporting characters from SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE. Peter Egermann (Robert Atzorn), outwardly stable and well adjusted, suffers from depression, feelings of sexual inadequacy, and barely suppressed rage toward his wife, Katarina (Christine Buchegger), the latter eventually leading to the brutal rape and murder of a prostitute. Events are not presented in chronological order, but the film consists mainly of a number of scenes preceding the crime that painfully illustrate the Egermanns' marital discord, and a series of subsequent police interrogations involving psychiatrist Mogens Jensen (Martin Benrath), a friend of the Egermanns'; Katarina's business partner, Tim (Walter Schmidinger); and Peter's devastated mother (Lola Müthel). Bergman made this picture with a predominantly German cast and crew--the only exception being his longtime cinematographer, Sven Nykvist. All scenes were shot in black and white except the opening sequence, depicting the murder, and the epilogue. [More]
Starring: Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Heinz Bennent, Martin Benrath
Starring: Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Heinz Bennent, Martin Benrath
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Director: Ingmar Bergman
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Reviews for From the Life of the Marionettes
Bergman's not exactly successful examination of the events and warped psychology leading up to a bourgeois businessman's murder of a prostitute.
The title signifies that the husband is just another puppet in the scheme of things, unable to properly respond to sensual and emotional arousal that varies from the routine structure.
The subject of this Ingmar Bergman film is repression, but everything is dismayingly on the surface.
It explores Bergman's usual concerns over marriage, sex and despair, but is not up to the director's better works.
From the Life of the Marionettes zeroes in on one troubled marriage and the ambiguities of human sexuality.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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