Word: alma
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Bergman's film, Johan Borg (Max von Sydow) and his companion of seven years Alma (Liv Ullman) have retreated from exuberant society to a remote island off the coast of Sweden. Johan pretends a lurid affair drove him here years ago, but his diary, the centerpiece of the tale, reveals that his passion was never required. Already descending through a gate of illusion into utter madness, Johan finally snaps when Alma discovers his secret...
...problem, and also the cleverness of the film, is that every character has a Doppelganger, further blurring the real and surreal, often beyond distinction. The barons and baronesses Johan encounters appear to him sometimes as they are and other times as he merely imagines them. Only after Alma tells the camera that she herself began seeing their neighbors through his dark lens do we realize Johan has been fantasizing about them all along...
...consistency, even Bergman's themes have Doppelgangers. The paranoid artist could be Bergman himself or it could be any artist. Johan might be skirting high society out of fear of sexual humiliation or from feelings of freakishness. His mania might derive more from sexual dissatisfaction with the rather homely Alma than from any frustration with the way his neighbors' treat him. Johan obviously suffers his insanity so we feel compassion for him, but his moods make him too unpleasant to be truly sympathetic...
...candidates for Radcliffe class marshal were equally enthusiastic about the chance to serve their alma mater...
According to country law, whenever a new sheriff takes office, he must re-deputize all of the special officers, such as university police. The occasion has given Bailey an opportunity to strengthen his ties to his alma matter and catch up with some old friends at the HUPD...