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Powerful

An Exercise In Nonsense

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I found Bergman's film of Mozart's opera neither the unalloyed masterpiece of some critics, nor the failure of others. To me it represented a perfectly enjoyable attempt to bring opera to the masses (remember this was made for TV), while not quite being a masterwork. There are a lot of moments of just plain fun; in the story, the singing, the costumes, the images. But there are failed ideas as well. Operating on a small budget, Bergman tries to walk a fine line of setting the opera in a theater, while 'opening it up' with camera angles, and sets that would never work in a real theater. Not a bad concept, but the constant cuts to audience reactions (especially those of his own daughter) becomes increasingly distracting, and there are times where some of the theatrical artifice, seen up close, just seems clunky, not magical. You never can 'believe in' the story, but you also don't get the grandeur and magic of a great stage production. You DO get an intimacy with the characters and their feelings, which is good where those are interesting, not so good in those moments where the story itself (as opposed to Mozart's sublime music) is a bit silly, contradictory and shallow.

Mozart's final opera, The Magic Flute, gets the Ingmar Bergman treatment in this 1975 film.One of the most beautiful operas ever written, The Magic Flute is infused with Masonic symbolism and odd twists to the story - the people we think are good (Queen of the Night and the Three Ladies) aren't, and vice versa. Sarastro (Ulrik Cold) supposedly is holding the Queen's (Birgit Nordlin) daughter Pamina (Irma Urrila) captive, and the Queen, in a magnificent aria, implores Tamino (Joseph Kostlinger) to save her and promises her in marriage if he succeeds. There is also the birdcatcher, Papageno (Hakan Hagegard), whom he meets along the way, and three boys who serve as guides. The three boys are one of the best parts of the film.Bergman sets up the production as a staged opera, and often focuses on a little girl in the audience and her reactions. I especially loved his use of an air balloon in several scenes - he also uses outdoor footage, particularly before Pamina's suicide attempt. And Bergman's ending, showing Papageno and Papagena, is wonderful.Though this opera is beautifully realized by Bergman, I have seen and heard The Magic Flute (as well as sung it) too many times to have enjoyed most of the singing. Despite some of the magnificent voices to come out of Sweden, the casting here was based on age and physical correctness for the role. Hagegard, Kostlinger, and Urrila come off the best, but in the brutally difficult role of the Queen, Birgit Nordlin falls short - it's my understanding the high Fs were dubbed. The boys were wonderful. In the end, I much prefer to Gedda-Janowitz-Popp recording from years ago.I once took a master class from the head of the Zurich Opera, who said that Americans are often too careful and precious with Mozart, when in fact, when The Magic Flute debuted, it was like Holiday on Ice! The music is so heavenly, the characters of Papageno and Papagena so accessible, that one can really believe it.The Magic Flute, here done in Swedish, is musically a perfect opera, with the soaring "Dies Bildnis," the tremendous Queen of the Night arias, the soulful "Ach, Ich fuhls," the beautiful Pamina-Papageno duet, the attempted suicide scene with Pamina and the three boys, the delightful Papageno-Papageno duet, and the God-like intonings of Sarastro.This is a great way to introduce opera to a novice, and a great opera with which to do it, despite all the layers in the story. Just listen to the music, and become a convert.

The core element of "The Magic Flute," Mozart's Masonic-inflected opera, passes over the head of most members of any audience and rendering it in Swedish would make it stranger except for Ingmar Bergman's undoubted cinematic genius and Mozart's astounding music. Who knew that there were so many beautiful Swedish opera stars? All of the major roles are taken by accomplished singers and Hakan Hagegard and Elizabeth Erikson may be the cutest Papageno and Papagena ever. Preposterous stories are more usual than not in opera. "The Magic Flute" might be the prototype. But the music is sublime and the astounding "vengeance" aria by the Queen of the Night (Birgit Nordin) is possibly the most difficult piece ever written for a soprano. Bergman makes the plot more accessible than it usually is. And he allows the marvelous but lengthy overture to speak for itself by focusing the camera on closeups of members of the audience (including Bergman himself, Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman). And again and again on a beautiful pre-teen girl, enraptured by the music.I haven't seen many filmed versions of "The Magic Flute," which is usually sung in German and occasionally in English. But, given the obscure nature of the plot, it works as well in Swedish (with English subtitles) as in any other language. This is the version to see.

The Magic Flute is a special kind of movie that may work better for fans of Mozart, or work better for fans of Bergman. And in general if you like opera it might hit your 'wow' button as being something different. Before getting to it, I was almost taken aback as I watched it, as I thought perhaps Bergman had picked this opera due it being incredibly tragic or emotionally draining (as I didn't know much about the opera aside from it being a Mozart one). It turns out this might be one of the only operas- maybe THE only- one I would consider ever watching again, or even hearing. As I'm not that big a fan of the kind of music (unless it's being done by Visconti on film or Woody's Match Point), it was a pleasant surprise to see Bergman make the opera right on the stage, putting all the artifice where it belongs. The very beginning of the film is particularly striking and interesting, with all of the close-ups suggesting this could be something different than it is- maybe something more 'heavy'- as it is once again lensed by Sven Nyvkist. But it isn't; this, along with Smiles of a Summer Night, are the most light-hearted films ever made by the usually tragic and introspective filmmaker.Mozart's tale is that of any given fairy tale, the kind that you either give yourself completely to as when you were a kid or not much at all. Sometimes one of the problems that comes when I try and watch an opera is really 'getting' a story out of it when I'm more focused on the singing and pageantry. But Mozart's story is simple enough- about a man (Tamino, played by Josef Kostlinger) trying to find a woman (Pamina played by Irma Urrilla) who has been offered to her by her mother the Queen, even as a bird hunter follows him. It could be a possible deterrent, too, with having the opera in total Swedish (sometimes glancing down at the words, all simple to a level little children might sign at), but I didn't mind that much either after a while. This is partly due to Bergman and Nykvist (and the production design and costumes and such, all lending to the more wonderful theatrical productions that Bergman was always capable of) keeping a good, lush hold on the production values and mood. But it's also due to the performers being rather good in their archetypal roles.Along with this, Bergman incorporates this as being a production going on by once in a while going backstage as the opera goes through its motions, more or less, with ease. It's a nice send-up to have that, as Bergman recognizes that through all of the cheesy bits of sets and lights, the actors are really what counts. And, of course, the filmmaker also shows a genuine affection for the music, and it becomes one of Mozart's most memorable, lively pieces at different points, providing moving melodies and songs, and even some doses of comedy with the couple Papageno and Papagena. It might not be for those who just can't take opera or classical music, and it might be strange for some Bergman fans to see right after Cries and Whispers or Shame. But if you give yourself to the material, and realize how beautiful escapist it can be, Bergman still kicks in his own style, without too much getting in the way, and it often fits together without conflict. A-