Stars: Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Martin Benrath, Heinz Bennent

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Summary: A disturbing account of the encounter between a prostitute and a very strange man. German dialogue with subtitles.

Filmed in Germany during the director's exile from Sweden after being charged with tax evasion, FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES is an unusually raw and explicit Ingmar Bergman drama, featuring two supporting characters from SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE. Peter Egermann (Robert Atzorn), outwardly stable and well adjusted, suffers from depression, feelings of sexual inadequacy, and barely suppressed rage toward his wife, Katarina (Christine Buchegger), the latter eventually leading to the brutal rape and murder of a prostitute. Events are not presented in chronological order, but the film consists mainly of a number of scenes preceding the crime that painfully illustrate the Egermanns' marital discord, and a series of subsequent police interrogations involving psychiatrist Mogens Jensen (Martin Benrath), a friend of the Egermanns'; Katarina's business partner, Tim (Walter Schmidinger); and Peter's devastated mother (Lola Muthel).
Bergman made this picture with a predominantly German cast and crew--the only exception being his longtime cinematographer, Sven Nykvist. All scenes were shot in black and white except the opening sequence, depicting the murder, and the epilogue.

WIN DVDs by rating this DVD

Average User Rating:

WIN DVDS by being amongst the first to review this DVD. Reviewing DVDs earns you bonus entries and lets you WIN DVDs!Please login before reviewing this DVD. If you're a new user, register for free and enter to WIN FREE DVDs!

Made in Munich while Bergman was in self-imposed exile from Sweden, From the Life of the Marionettesis not so much a "whodunit" as a "whydunnit". The film opens with the shockingly violent and senseless murder of a prostitute by Peter, a young, successful businessman. Through a series of non-chronological flashbacks to a time before the crime, we attempt to fathom just what impelled Peter to perpetrate this terrible murder.

Along with wife Katarina, the character Peter also featured in Bergman's 1973 film Scenes from a Marriage. Here, as there, we see that they are wedded in the sense of being emotionally chained to each other, yet hating each other for their mutual dependency. There is also a perturbing scene in which they both appear to "get off" when he takes a knife to her throat. His cold and duplicitous psychiatrist glibly ascribes the murder to a repressed homosexuality resulting in a violent outburst, while Katarina's business partner, who is gay, appears to harbour a desire to sabotage the pair's marriage. This film has an airless, fake-lit quality about it, which reflects the conditions of the characters' lives but by the end, leaves you mesmerised and still uncertain as to why what happened has happened. A late but great Bergman work.

On the DVD:This edition adequately enhances the stark monochrome in which most of the film is set. Bergman's notes reveal that his depictions of Peter in his psychiatric ward were based on his own behaviour during a recent spell in a similar institution following his arrest for tax evasion. Philip Strick's critical notes observe that the sparing use of colour at the beginning and end of the film signify what may have been the only times in Peter's life when he "experienced reality". --David Stubbs

Aspect Ratio:	1.33 Full Screen
Main Language:	German
Region:	Region 0
Special Features:	Star And Director Filmographies, Scene Selection, Philip Strick Film Notes, Extract From Bergmans Book Images My Life In Film, The Bergman Collection Trailer
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1980
Release Date:	February 25, 2002
Runtime:	99 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	T V D 3371
Keywords:	Aus, Dem, Subtitled, Life, General, Marionettes, German, From, Drama, Der, Liv, Leben, Marionetten, Marionetternas, Ur
Genre:	Drama