brianberta Review of Sawdust and Tinsel

Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)

One of the Best Depictions of Human Suffering I've Seen

[9/10 · 14 November 2023]

Bergman depicts human suffering better than just about every director I'm familiar with and this is yet another reminder of his talents. I've seen the opening vignette argued as being the best part of the film by some reviewers and, though I wouldn't quite agree inasmuch to the extent I've seen some people argue this point, it's certainly a terrific sequence. In spite of the human suffering it depicts, Bergman also interjects humor into every frame of the opening, given the prominence of a clown bearing part of the blunt of this suffering. This doesn't overshadow the disturbing elements of it but rather acts as an ironic counterpoint. Though the tone of the succeeding film changes somewhat (in the sense that the humor is placed mostly in the background), the conflict between Albert, Anne, and Frans still maintain a handful of similarities with the opening, beyond the surface level pessimistic tones of both. In a vacuum, the emotional register of various scenes in the film should be blunt, but Bergman throws other contrasting elements into the mix which complicates what they get you to feel. For instance, Anne's mid film encounter with Frans should act as a euphoric release from her financial and relationship problems with Albert, yet his rough behavior confirms that he won't provide her with a way out. Also, the fight between Albert and Frans would normally be your typical "romantic hero beats up his lover's abusive partner" trope, yet the knowledge that Frans is just as bad, if not worse than Albert makes their fight surprisingly emotionally muted to the point you're not sure who to root for. Finally, Anne returning to Albert and giving him a faint smile seems to be done out of quiet resignation to her fate. Overall, it's an excellent film which I would rank pretty highly amongst Bergman's large body of films.