Shame (1968 Film)
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''Shame'' () is a 1968 Swedish
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film written and directed by
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
, and starring
Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and filmmaker. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, whom she date ...
and
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
. Ullmann and von Sydow play Eva and Jan, former
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ists, a politically uninvolved couple whose home comes under threat by
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. They are accused by one side of sympathy for the enemy, and their marriage deteriorates while the couple flees. The story explores themes of shame, moral decline, self-loathing and violence. The film was shot on
Fårö Fårö () or in Gutnish is a Baltic Sea island just north of the island of Gotland, itself off mainland Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the county and it is a popular summer resort. It has its own language, Fårö ...
, beginning in 1967, employing miniature models for the combat scenes. ''Shame'' was shot and released during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, although Bergman denied it was a commentary on the real-life conflict. He instead expressed interest in telling the story of a "little war". ''Shame'' won a few honors, including for Ullmann's performance. It is sometimes considered the second in a series of thematically related films, preceded by Bergman's 1968 '' Hour of the Wolf'', and followed by the 1969 '' The Passion of Anna''. The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, to honor the films of 1968. They were the first Oscars to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, and the first with no host since the 20th Academy Awards. '' Oliver!'' ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee


Plot

A husband and wife, Jan and Eva Rosenberg, are former
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
ists who are living on a farm on a rural island during a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Their radio and telephone do not work, and Eva expresses frustration with Jan's apparent preference of
escapism Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment. Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general s ...
from the conflict, while they debate whether they can have children and if Jan is selfish. The couple visit the town, hear a rumor that troops will soon come, and meet with an older man who has been called to duty. When they return, their home area is bombed, and they see a
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
descend on it. Jan and Eva are captured by the invading force and interviewed by a military journalist on camera, for a segment on the viewpoints of the "liberated" population. Eva initially seems indifferent to the conflict, but denies neutrality; Jan declines to speak, and they are released. They are later captured again, and as soldiers interrogate them, the troops play a film of the interview, in which Eva's words have been dubbed over with incriminating speech. This is primarily a scare tactic. Eventually, they are released by Col. Jacobi, who had formerly served as the mayor. After the couple returns home, their relationship is strained. Jacobi becomes a regular, but uncomfortably constant, visitor who treats them with gifts but also has the power to send the couple to a work camp. This relationship is manipulative. Jacobi convinces Eva to provide him with sexual favors in exchange for his bank account savings. They go into the green house to have sex while Jan is resting. He wakes, calling Eva's name. Eventually, he goes upstairs and finds Jacobi's savings on the bed and begins to cry. Eva enters, while Jacobi stays outside and turns to leave. She then comments to a weeping Jan that he can continue sobbing if he feels it will help. Soldiers arrive, and Jacobi explains his freedom can be bought, as the side of the war who is here is in desperate need of money. Jacobi, the soldiers, and Eva ask Jan for the money. Jan states he does not know what money they are talking about. The soldiers raid the house to look for it, in vain. They hand Jan a gun to execute Jacobi, and he does. After the soldiers leave, Jan reveals he had the money in his pocket, to Eva's disgust. This has split their relationship irreparably and causes repeated breakdowns. The relationship grows silent and cold. When Jan and Eva meet a young soldier, Eva wants to feed him and allow him to sleep. Jan violently takes him away to shoot and rob him. Eva follows Jan towards the sea, and he uses the money from Jacobi in order to buy them seats on a fishing boat. While at sea, the boat's motor fails. The man steering the boat kills himself by lowering himself overboard. The boat later finds itself stuck in the middle of floating dead bodies, unable to move forward and continue. As the boat takes away the refugees, Eva tells Jan of her dream: she walks down a beautiful city street with a shaded park, until planes come and set fire to the city and its rose vines. She and Jan have had a daughter, whom she is holding in her arms. They watch the roses burn, which she states "wasn't awful because it was so beautiful". She feels she had to remember something, but could not.


Cast


Themes

Author Jerry Vermilye wrote that in exploring "the thread of violence intruding on ordinary lives", '' Hour of the Wolf'' (1968), ''Shame'', and '' The Passion of Anna'' represent a trilogy. Author Amir Cohen-Shalev concurred that the films form a trilogy. In particular, ''Shame'' depicts the "disintegration of humanity in war". The violence, which author Tarja Laine believed represented a civil war in Sweden, is depicted as "apparently meaningless". Marc Gervais writes that ''Shame'', as a war film, does not address what either of the two sides of the war stand for and does not venture into
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
or a statement against
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
, instead focusing on "human disintegration, this time extending it to a broader social dimension in the life of one small community". The film delves into the concept of
shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...
, associating it with the "moral failure with the self" bringing about a "traumatic configuration" in character, with Von Sydow's character developing from coward to murderer. Journalist Camilla Lundberg observed a pattern in Bergman's films that the protagonists are often musicians, though in an interview Bergman claimed he was not aware of such a trend. Author Per F. Broman believed ''Shame'' fits this trend in that the characters are violinists, but remarked that music did not seem very relevant to the plot. Laine suggested memories of playing the violin represent an "if-only" theme, in which the characters imagine a better life they could have had. Cohen-Shalev wrote that, like ''
Persona A persona (plural personae or personas) is a strategic mask of identity in public, the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. It is also considered "an intermediary ...
'' and ''The Passion of Anna'', ''Shame'' follows an "artist as fugitive" theme touching on issues of guilt and self-hatred. Critic
Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1937) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'' for over thirty years and the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1968 to 1969. She h ...
believed that "The 'Shame' of the title is God's". However, other authors believe the film differs from Bergman's earlier works, inasmuch as it is less concerned with God.


Production


Development

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
wrote the screenplay for ''Shame'', completing it in spring 1967. He explained the origin of the story: The controversial
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
was being fought at the time, and while Bergman denied the film was a statement on the conflict, he remarked that "Privately, my view of the war in Vietnam is clear. The war should have been over a long time ago and the Americans gone". He also stated "As an artist, I am horror-stricken by what is happening in the world". He envisioned Jan and Eva as
Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
, for that party subsidized culture.


Filming

Shooting began in September 1967. The film was shot on the island of
Fårö Fårö () or in Gutnish is a Baltic Sea island just north of the island of Gotland, itself off mainland Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the county and it is a popular summer resort. It has its own language, Fårö ...
, where the filmmakers had a house built to portray the Rosenberg residence. The war scenes required
trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
effects, with Bergman and cinematographer
Sven Nykvist Sven Vilhem Nykvist (; 3 December 1922 – 20 September 2006) was a Swedish cinematographer and filmmaker, best known for his collaboration with directors Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen. Often considered to be one of the greatest cinematographers ...
burning miniature churches and making small streams look like violent rivers. Nykvist also employed a substantial number of shots with
hand-held camera Hand-held camera or hand-held shooting is a filmmaking and video production technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands as opposed to being mounted on a Tripod (photography), tripod or other base. Hand-held cameras are used ...
s and
zoom lens A zoom lens is a system of camera lens elements for which the focal length (and thus angle of view) can be varied, as opposed to a fixed-focal-length (FFL) lens (''prime lens''). A true zoom lens or optical zoom lens is a type of '' parfocal ...
es. Another location was
Visby Visby () is an urban areas in Sweden, urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic League, ...
on
Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
; filming wrapped on 23 November. After shooting completed, Fårö's environmental regulations required the Rosenberg house be burned, but Bergman had developed an attachment to its appearance and saved it by claiming there were plans to use it in another film. He began writing ''The Passion of Anna'', and with Von Sydow and Ullmann still contracted to work with him, envisioned ''The Passion of Anna'' as "virtually a sequel".


Release

The film had its debut at the International Cinema Incontri in
Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...
, Italy, which Bergman could not attend due to an ear infection. It opened in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
on 29 September 1968. In North America, ''Skammen'' was released under the title ''Shame''. It opened in New York City on 12 December 1968.
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
released ''Shame'' on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
both in the US and the UK as part of a box set including ''Hour of the Wolf'', ''The Passion of Anna'', '' The Serpent's Egg'' and ''Persona'', though the UK box set omits ''Persona''.
The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
announced a
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
release in Region A for 20 November 2018, along with 38 other Bergman films, in the set '' Ingmar Bergman's Cinema''.


Reception


Critical reception

In Sweden, Mauritz Edström wrote in ''
Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
'' that the film signified Bergman dealing less with his own inner conflict to something more contemporary and more important than one person. Torsten Bergmark, also in ''Dagens Nyheter'', wrote Bergman had found a new message, one of how a person without religion, Jan in this case, is left with self-loathing, while Eva is Bergman's "new solidarity". In the United States,
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
reviewed the film in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' in December 1968. She was an admirer of the film, writing "''Shame'' is a masterpiece, ... a vision of the effect of war on two people". She praised
Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and filmmaker. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent collaborator of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, whom she date ...
as "superb in the demanding central role" and
Gunnar Björnstrand Knut Gunnar Johanson (13 November 1909 – 24 May 1986) was a Swedish actor known for his frequent work with writer and director Ingmar Bergman. Biography Björnstrand was born Knut Gunnar Johanson in Stockholm as son of actor Oscar Johanson an ...
as "beautifully restrained as an aging man clinging to the wreckage of his life".
Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1937) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'' for over thirty years and the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1968 to 1969. She h ...
, writing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', called it "Dry, beautifully photographed, almost arid in its inspiration".
Judith Crist Judith Crist (; Klein; May 22, 1922 – August 7, 2012) was an American film critic and academic. She appeared regularly on the '' Today'' show from 1964 to 1973 Martin, Douglas (August 8, 2012)"Judith Crist, Zinging and Influential Film ...
of ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' called it "Bergman's definitive apocalyptic vision, painful and powerful". However, Crist added the kind of people who could learn from it did not usually watch Bergman films. In 1996, ''Shame'' was included in ''
Movieline ''Movieline'' was a Los Angeles–based film and entertainment magazine, launched in 1985 as a local magazine, which went national in 1989. Known for its cult status and popularity among film critics, the magazine eventually was retooled and nam ...
'' magazine's "100 Greatest Foreign Films". In 2008,
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave ''Shame'' four stars, noting its timing during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and calling it "angry and bleak film that was against all war" and "a portrait of a couple torn from their secure lives and forced into a horrifying new world of despair". However, he remarked the film was less remembered than other Bergman films at the time of his writing. In 2015, Drew Hunt of the ''
Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
'' placed it in Bergman's top five films, judging it "A war film that's not actually about war". The film has a 65% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 6.9/10.


Accolades

The film was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the
41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, to honor the films of 1968. They were the first Oscars to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, and the first with no host since the 20th Academy Awards. '' Oliver!'' ...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Liv Ullmann won the award for Best Actress at the 6th Guldbagge Awards.


See also

* List of submissions to the 41st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film * List of Swedish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* *
''Shame: Twilight of the Humans''
an essay by
Michael Sragow Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952) is an American film critic and columnist who has written for ''The Orange County Register'', ''The Baltimore Sun'', ''Film Comment'', the ''San Francisco Examiner'', ''The New Times'', ''The New Yorker'' (where ...
at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
{{Authority control 1968 war films 1968 films Anti-war films Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman Films set on islands Swedish black-and-white films Swedish drama films 1960s Swedish-language films 1960s political drama films 1968 drama films National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film winners 1960s Swedish films