Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata Photos

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Cast

Ingrid Bergman
as Charlotte Andergast

Liv Ullmann
as Eva

Lena Nyman
as Helena

Halvar Björk
as Viktor

Georg Løkkeberg
as Leonardo

Knut Wigert
as Professor

Eva von Hanno
as Nurse

Erland Josephson
as Josef

Arne Bang-Hansen
as Uncle Otto

Linn Ullmann
as Eva as a child

Gunnar Bjornstrand
as Paul

Ame Bang-Hansen
as Uncle Otto

Marianne Aminoff
as Charlotte's private secretary

Mimi Pollak
as Piano instructor

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Critic Reviews for Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata)

Audience Reviews for Höstsonaten (Autumn Sonata)

• May 08, 2011

  Its a devastatingly sad film, and while I wouldn't count it among Ingmar Bergman's absolute best (mostly because the first half of the film dives into the conflict too quickly and easily) but once the mother/daughter confrontation occurs its pretty powerful. It demonstrates some of the best writing Bergman has ever done.
  

  Alec B Super Reviewer
• Dec 14, 2009

  This is one of the very best Ingmar Bergman films I have seen, and therefore one of the very best films. Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman are simply amazing together as a mother and daughter combination from hell. Ingrid Bergman is terrific, despite a deliberately naff hairdo which makes her look like Queen Elizabeth II of the UK rather than the faded beauty she is. Liv Ullman also has visual nuances to enhance her character - the glasses, platted hair and jumpers enabling this beautiful woman to look frumpy. The acting is simply amazing, even through the subtitles you can tell. Fortunately Scandinavian vocal nuance is similar enough to English to enable us non-Swedish speakers to appreciate the acting. Of course, it has the Ingmar Bergman darkness to it. The sister with the horrible degenerative disease, the drowned toddler, the selfishness of the Ingrid Bergman character. If you get depressed along with the characters in films like this, you might be better off giving this one a miss. But for those with a taste for this type of claustrophobic drama, this is one of the most powerful films you will ever see.
  Cassandra M Super Reviewer
• Nov 05, 2009

  Affecting less due to the story, and more due to observing still-radiant Ingrid Bergman in the twilight of her life. Otherwise, there's not much happening in the filmmaking beyond "warm lighting," and the script seems like just a case of Ingmar struggling to find new ways to make characters intensely miserable.
  

  Eric B Super Reviewer
• Jun 04, 2009

  Amazing how Ingmar Bergman manages to depict the tormented inner soul of characters in such a believable way. Emotions are captured remarkably well here. This movie (although it feels more like you're watching a theatre play at times) that features beautiful music of Chopin, is about the troubled relationship between a mother (Ingrid Bergman) and daughter (Liv Ullman). Things run out of hand during the night when the mother visits the daughter. Ullmann's long, emotional monologue is chilling to watch. Both lead actors deliver the performance of their career. It's a film that gets better after repeated views, it starts softly, builds up to a climax like a sonata and then calms down again as the characters find piece with themselves.
  William H Super Reviewer

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