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Touches You

Overrated and overhyped

A Brilliant Conflict

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

We all know that Ingmar Bergman is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. With films like 'The Seventh Seal', 'Fanny and Alexander', and 'Wild Strawberries', you would instantly know the type of man Bergman was and what he loved to show on film. You wouldn't say that he was known for romantic comedies or horror, but instead, Bergman had a unique talent to show the ups and downs of life and relationships in the most profound ways. One of Bergman's most raw and grim film was 'Cries and Whispers' from 1972.There have only been a few films or TV shows where I became so entangled in the characters that I felt like I was actually a part of their lives. This is one of those films for me, and I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way as 'Cries and Whispers' has won numerous awards including Oscars. Not only did this film receive critical praise, it also became one of the more financially successful Bergman films of his career and for good reason. I think we can all relate tot his film in some form or fashion, because we all know someone who has suffered from cancer.What Bergman does so well here is that he makes us think about what we would do and say in a terrible situation of seeing a loved one in severe pain, where there is nothing you can do, but watch. 'Cries and Whispers' takes place all inside a luxurious estate in rural Sweden where two sisters Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin) have come home to be with their sister Agnes (Harriet Anderson) who is on her deathbed from cancer. Anna (Kari Sylman), the maid/nurse helps out when she can. Not only does Agnes not have long to live, but she is severe pain throughout the entire film, moaning and screaming in agony as these woman can only look on this sad site.A good doctor (Erland Josephson) visits a couple of times, but can only watch in tears like the rest of the women, as there is nothing he can do. Throughout the film, each woman has flashbacks to their past, which shows us the key moments in their lives that made them who they are today, whether it be a good or bad person. Each sister confronts their past and present, which may not always be in the most gracious of ways, but each of them learn and struggle to re-access their lives for better or worse. All of this takes place as these women watch their beloved sister screaming in pain, which quite frankly is pretty awful to hear.It begs us to determine what we would do in this situation, and how would it influence and impact our lives. When the film is over, you can't help but feel like you have gone through a the death of a loved one as well. Each actress is excellent here, but Harriet Anderson playing Agnes just takes the spotlight. Her screams and moans hit ranges and effects similar to the possessed Regan of 'The Exorcist', and her facial expressions really do sell that we are actually seeing a dying woman in front of us.Sven Kykvist won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1974 for this film. His use of the color red keeps us uneasy throughout, but ends up looking gorgeous and giving us a sense of escape from this household. 'Cries and Whispers' is a very heavy handed film, but it is also quite brilliant.

I felt that Ingmar Begman's Cries and Whispers was certainly different than I would expect of most films centered around the death of a family member. What surprises me about this film is how dysfunctional and repressed most of the family members are around each other. The sisters look back upon their failed marriages and attempts at proving themselves to each other, all the while the dying sister tells them to just try and reconcile, yet they are ultimately unable to do so. What was so intriguing to me about this film was the fact that it showed you that sometimes tragedy can't heal the wounds and rifts that form in relationships, and that denial can prove more powerful than understanding.

To me this movie could have been about or was partly about exploring family relationships and how an anticipated death can make people act. I didn't really get much more out of it than that. I definitely had trouble understanding the overall message it was trying to relay to its audience. Regardless, I can definitely applaud Bergman for provoking extremely heavy emotion. I didn't even fully understand what this movie was about, but left it with the most unsettling and intense feeling. From the music, to the moments of deep silence, to the close up shots, and to the extremely blunt and graphic scenes, Bergman stirs many dense emotions. It created such a heavy and unsettling feeling within me to the point where I felt anxiety during and after the movie. I definitely need to watch it again to try to find more meaning within it, but it's worth watching just for the emotional experience of it. It's amazing how (and proves how) movies can completely consume your emotions.

Cries and Whispers, directed by Ingmar Bergman, had an uncanny effect on me. The three sisters, Agnes, Karin, and Maria, reminded me of my two sisters and myself but with a vast difference that has made our lives differ from the lives of the three sisters from the film.Like Agnes, my younger sister struggles with an illness. She has cerebral palsy, a condition affecting her nervous system that has resulted in her having a mental disability, seizures, and bowel, vision and dental problems. She is unable to accomplish everyday tasks on her own, whether it's eating, walking, showering or even dressing. Like Agnes, she depends on her loved ones in order to survive. It is remarkable what Agnes and my sister go through everyday, but what blows my mind is how they carry out themselves.Agnes, battling cancer, writes in her diary that she is grateful to her life because it has given her so much. I can't help but feel grateful myself for having the life I have. Sometimes, I do feel like the most unfortunate person in the world, but such a movie eliminates any such feelings. We should always remember that even at our lowest point, someone else might be struggling at an even greater scale.Agnes and my sister have similarities, but one difference between the two is that unlike Agnes, my sister has two sisters that care for her and would do anything to keep her happy. It is unfortunate that Agnes can't seek support from her sisters. No one should go through struggles alone.