Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Aus dem Leben der Marionetten" ("From the Life of Marionettes) is a German 100-minute movie from over 35 years ago and I believe this is the only film that renowned Swedish writer and director Ingmar Bergman made in German. Lead actor is Robert Atzorn and I know him. However, I am not familiar with late lead actress Christine Buchegger. I see this film here is a spin-off from another work by Bergman. That one was in Swedish though. We watch a couple in their dysfunctional marriage and find out why the husband committed a terrible crime. This basically happens entirely via flashbacks to the days and hours before the crime. I guess Bergman wanted to shock the audience right away and to keep them interested, he included the scene right at the beginning. He probably knew that a chronological order would bore most of the audience as the story that leads to the crime is simply not interesting enough unfortunately.If this is standard Bergman, then I have to say I am not really interested. He had many good actors at his disposal, yet didn't manage to construct a well-thought-out film around them, even if the acting was fine for the most part. In terms of a similar plot, I definitely prefer Rainer Werner Fassbinder's amok-related movie. A much more rewarding watch because he, unlike Bergman, does not lose himself in pretentious dialogue and style over substance for a big part of the movie. Honestly, I quickly lost interest in the ways the couple constantly humiliates each other and also in the question why he actually did what he did. Well.. I could even say it as it happens right away in the film, so it wouldn't even be a spoiler, would it? Oh well, guess I won't Check for yourself. Or don't because you would not be missing much. I cannot recommend "Aus dem Leben der Marionetten". Thumbs down.

runamokprods A complex dissection of a murder and a murderer, told by jumping back and forth in time, before and after the event, A deeply disturbing portrait of a man and a society so cut off from feeling that violence seems almost inevitable. While more divided in public reaction then some of Bergman's most beloved works, I think this edgy, bold, uncomfortable film ranks close to some of his best work. While there are moments of pretension, there's also a lot of human and psychological complexity (and wonderful acting) in this bleak exploration of how near murder and madness lie to any of us.

Michael Neumann Ingmar Bergman's cold, clinical case study explores the psycho-sexual inhibitions of a Swedish man unable to trust his wife but unwilling to leave her, leading him finally to murder and then rape a young prostitute. The verbally explicit drama is challenging and controversial but also impersonal and uninvolving, in large part because of Bergman's deliberately detached viewpoint and the unfortunate addition (on the old VHS print I saw, at least) of substandard English overdubbing. The implied criticism of Freudian analysis is worth noting (if only because it's more interesting than the facts in the case itself), but the film hardly qualifies as entertainment, except perhaps for highbrow viewers needing strong food for thought.

Murder Slim Many of Ingmar Bergman's movies touch on navel gazing - often featuring characters "breaking the fourth wall". We're expected to look at the character's face and glean the depth of their despair through this device. Sadly, as in 'Summer With Monica', 'Persona', 'Wild Strawberries' et al, this leads to some turgid movies.Yet a batch of Bergman's movies are... well... movies. 'Virgin Spring' is one. Its focus is on telling a story, while subtly developing the characters. And, of course, there's 'The Seventh Seal" too. Another story led one, and great on the excesses of religion, death, hope.'From The Life of Marionettes' is somewhere between the two styles of Bergman, but enough of the focus is on the story that I'd put this up with some of his movies that really did it for me. 'Marionettes' begins with the murder and rape of a woman... throwing you straight in at the deep-end. The scene is in Technicolor to heighten the impact. Much of the rest of the movie then switches to black and white flashbacks and flashforwards that cover the reasons behind - and the aftermath of - the murder.The movie does come across as cold and clinical. It's so precise in its form, with lingering shots and a tendency toward tableau middle and long shots, that it is a hard movie to get excited by. But, that's probably just the point of it. Even though you feel like you're gently led by the hand through the movie, the story and characters are strong enough that you let yourself be. Well, mostly. I felt a little irritated by 10 or 20 minutes in the middle section, and I felt a couple of the scenes repeated themselves to beat us with a certain viewpoint.But it works. 'From The Life of Marionettes' succeeds in achieving a hard thing - seeing into the mind of an insane man. And while it's not a fun watch, it's a very interesting one.