Word: egerman
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...main story line opens with the Egerman family. A middle-aged lawyer, Frederik (Tim Foley '98) has taken a trophy wife, Anne (Danielle Beurteaux), who is younger than his own son Henrik (Ezra Keshet '99). The inherent problems in such a match provide much of the tension that drives the play. Frederik lacks the energy to seduce the innocent Anne, for whom the idea of marital duty is confined to being cheerful around her husband. Henrik, a young seminarian, is equally naive and is confused by the attraction he feels for Anne. The three lament their bizarre love triangle...
...which was released in December of 1955, became Bergman's breakthrough film. Many critics have seen it as the culmination of Bergman's so-called "rose period," during which he made lighter-hearted films. Ostensibly a comedy of manners, "Smiles of a Summer Night" stars Gunnar Bjornstrand as Fredrik Egerman, a successful middle-aged lawyer whose second wife is the virginal 18-year-old Anne (Ulla Jacobsson). As Anne rebuffs Egerman's physical advances, Egerman turns to the actress Desiree Armfeldt (Eva Dahlbeck), an old lover and friend of his, for help. During a visit to Desiree's lodgings, Egerman...
...further complicate matters, Countess Malcolm (Margit Carlqvist) is jealous of Desiree, and Henrik (Bjorn Bjelvenstam), Egerman's grown son from his first marriage, is in love with Anne. Old Mrs. Armfeldt, prodded by her daughter, invites everyone to spend the weekend at her country estate. During the course of the summer night, and under the influence of a mysterious love potion served at dinner, eight people turn into four couples...
...with several different elements in "Smiles of a Summer Night." The film is grounded in the notion of Shakespearean comedy, particularly A Midsummer Night's Dream. The tropes of the husband and wife who are separated and then reunited, the sylvan atmosphere and the magic spells buttress the film. Egerman is very much like Bottom; he plays an ass throughout the movie, but at the end, after Anne has run off with Henrik, he is made human again. The film also contains echoes of Beaumarchais' The Marriage of Figaro and allusions to Jean Renior's classic 1939 film, "The Rules...