Ingmar Bergman: Depressing Yet Funny

Difficult and Depressing but Also Funny and Brilliant

At one time, Ingmar Bergman's name was known by any serious student of film. With the mystifying collapse of foreign film as a viable market during the 80s and 90s, Bergman's legacy is losing its potency. Part of this can be traced to the lessening of his impact through parody which began, ironically, with one of his biggest fans, Woody Allen. Allen wrote several satirical takeoffs of Bergman and opened a floodgate of criticism that the Swedish director took himself too seriously.Another criticism of Bergman is that his movies are too dark and depressing. This is the case with many, but at the same time Bergman was also capable of making films that could cause audiences to laugh out loud. Perhaps his first truly huge international success was Smiles of the Summer Night (and the title actually is translated into "the" and not "a") which is a comedy of manners and morals that often produces loud laughs.My favorite Bergman comedy is The Devil's Eye, in which Don Juan is sent from hell to seduce a virgin because Satan has a sty in his eye caused by the fact that a girl is about to get married while still a virgin. Just the description alone is cause enough for a smile, and Bergman delivers more than just smiles.

Still, Bergman's reputation rests upon his dark and dreary and "difficult" films, among which The Seventh Seal, Persona and Cries and Whispers are perhaps the most famous. The Seventh Seal is probably his most famous film, and the one most often parodied. It features the character of Death engaging in a chess match with a knight returning to his plague-infested homeland after battling in the Crusades. Sure, there's opportunity for satire, but this is one movie you won't forget. And it's not nearly as dark as it sounds; in fact this film is actually one of the funniest dramas Bergman ever wrote. The character of the knight's squire Jons is actually, arguably, Bergman's funniest creation ever. He is a counterpoint to the dramatic contest being held between Death and the knight. His opinions and views on life differ substantially from the knight's and therein lies the humor.