Director:
Ingmar Bergman
Writer:
Ingmar Bergman
After a nightly train journey through desolate countryside, two emotionally estranged sisters stop at a once-grandiose hotel in an unidentified Central European country on the brink of war or insurrection, in the middle of a heatwave. The older, more cultured sister, Ester (Ingrid Thulin), who is a literary translator, is taken seriously ill, which seems to be terminal. Her fear of death, as well as long-standing rivalry and need for control, cloud her relationship with her younger sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom). The sisters are depicted as a spirit/flesh dichotomy, with Ester representing the heart and mind, and Anna representing the body and soul.
Upon arriving to the hotel, Anna's son, Johan (Jörgen Lindström), a boy of 8 or so, wanders around the seemingly empty hallways, encountering a friendly old man and a group of Spanish midgets who are part of a travelling circus. Meanwhile, Ester wastes away in her room, attempting to work on her translations, and Anna ventures into the city, eventually having a one-night-stand with a stranger, which infuriates Ester.
By the end of the film, Anna and Johan leave the hotel, and Johan reads a note given to him by Ester while boarding the train. The note reads: "To Johan- words in a foreign language". Anna, seemingly unaffected by it, opens the window and cools herself with the outside rain. It is implied that Ester dies at the hotel, alone.
The theme of 'silence' is repeated throughout the film: God has been silent to Anna over her life, and is now silent in Ester as she dies; in addition, none of the characters speak the language of the country, causing disorientation and confusion; and the two sisters constantly misinterpret the others' words, making communication difficult or impossible.
Upon arriving to the hotel, Anna's son, Johan (Jörgen Lindström), a boy of 8 or so, wanders around the seemingly empty hallways, encountering a friendly old man and a group of Spanish midgets who are part of a travelling circus. Meanwhile, Ester wastes away in her room, attempting to work on her translations, and Anna ventures into the city, eventually having a one-night-stand with a stranger, which infuriates Ester.
By the end of the film, Anna and Johan leave the hotel, and Johan reads a note given to him by Ester while boarding the train. The note reads: "To Johan- words in a foreign language". Anna, seemingly unaffected by it, opens the window and cools herself with the outside rain. It is implied that Ester dies at the hotel, alone.
The theme of 'silence' is repeated throughout the film: God has been silent to Anna over her life, and is now silent in Ester as she dies; in addition, none of the characters speak the language of the country, causing disorientation and confusion; and the two sisters constantly misinterpret the others' words, making communication difficult or impossible.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057611/
