Fanny and Alexander
The banks of the river flowing through Uppsala are caked in snow. Street lamps are being lit. There’s the sound of sleigh bells in the street. From the annual nativity play, members of the Ekdahl family are returning to the opulent townhouse where the table is set and the Christmas tree is decorated. In a calm moment before their arrival, a maid remarks to ageing matriarch Helena Ekdahl (Gunn Wållgren) that this will be their 43rd Christmas together. The year is 1907.
Told through the eyes of 10-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), Bergman’s epic family saga is bookended by Christmas and Christening celebrations – and the warm red furnishings and gaslit interiors of the Ekdahl family home are much missed in the film’s stark middle section, after tragedy strikes and the lives of Alexander and his sister are cruelly uprooted.
A much smaller cohort, European Christmas films tend to come in different packaging to their brasher American cousins. Old-world customs and tradition dominate, reminding us of Europe as a land of folklore and fairytale. Bergman’s film is itself touched with magical realism: it’s filled with apparitions and the overactive imaginings of a young mind.
As it returns to UK cinemas for its 40th anniversary, we raise a toast to cinema’s continental Christmases.
Told through the eyes of 10-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), Bergman’s epic family saga is bookended by Christmas and Christening celebrations – and the warm red furnishings and gaslit interiors of the Ekdahl family home are much missed in the film’s stark middle section, after tragedy strikes and the lives of Alexander and his sister are cruelly uprooted.
A much smaller cohort, European Christmas films tend to come in different packaging to their brasher American cousins. Old-world customs and tradition dominate, reminding us of Europe as a land of folklore and fairytale. Bergman’s film is itself touched with magical realism: it’s filled with apparitions and the overactive imaginings of a young mind.
As it returns to UK cinemas for its 40th anniversary, we raise a toast to cinema’s continental Christmases.
Cast
Kristina Adolphson • Börje Ahlstedt • Pernilla Allwin • Bertil Guve
Director
Angmar Bergman
Running Time
189 minutes