Word: sjoberg
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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Because it is basically a psychological study, August Stindbergh's play Miss Julie would seem to be uniquely suited to the talents of the Scandinavian film-makers. Yet the adaptation written and directed by Alf Sjoberg and filmed in 1952 is still rather disappointing. The weaknesses of the picture, however, lie in the original play...
Miss Julie chronicles the descent of the last member of a degenerate noble family into the open arms of the ambitious and amoral family coachman. Today, 67 years after the play was first produced, the social implications of such a liaison have lost much of their urgency. Sjoberg realized that and emphasized Strindbergh's nearly Freudian character study. Unfortunately, he did not quite succeed--Julie still remains, if not actually dull, at least somewhat remote...
Anita Bjorg, playing the title role, deserves much of the credit for keeping Miss Julie from becoming the complete bore that it might have been. She and director Sjoberg have conceived Miss Julie as a character balanced on the edge of madness. Bjork's performance is particularly impressive in those moments when the balances seems to be lost altogether...
Miss Julie displays far more effectively the genius of director Alf Sjoberg than that of Strindberg, for the visual effects threaten to swallow the story itself. Although the script changes barley a line of the play, the film projects the drama on an infinitely broader canvas, interpolating speeches with artful flashbacks. As a result, Miss Julie dispels much of the tautness and unity of the play and frequently accentuates its dated melodrama. Whether a less imaginative transcription of Miss Julie would hold much interest for modern audiences is questionable, however. The place of Strindberg's picture of tormented souls...