Fröken Julie / Miss Julie, by Alf Sjöstrom in 1951, might be one of Swedish cinemas great forgotten gems. It won the equivalent to the Palme dOr the year it was released, but its a seldom discussed movie. Coincidentally, it competed against A Place in the Sun at Cannes that year, which plot bares a resemblance. A man, obligated to another woman, fascinated by a glamorous one. The play from which Miss Julie is adapted is from the 1700s and depicts the time with so many sensations that it can be at once possess historical fascination and maintain a dream-like cinematic quality. It is so finely directed that I must see at least one more film by Alf Sjöstrom. It features at least three performances that register on different levels of magnificent. Ulf Palme as Jean, a servant, gives maybe one of my favorite performances of all-time. I must think about these things a little more, but he hands the staging and emotion so well. Its a delirious and wonderful performance that goes hand in hand so well with Sjöstroms rhythm. Anita Björk as the titular character is great, if a little bit dated in how she handles some of the dense dialogue and monologues. Her emotions dont flow so smoothly, but then she is playing a jagged character. Its a great performance, but there is a lot of that character to flesh out. I suppose if the film had any one flaw its that, at 90 minutes, it could have extended its time on Miss Julie and her mercurial mind. The other great performance is turned in by Lissi Alandh, Miss Julies mother in flashbacks. I thought she was crazy and handled it the way Ingrid Bergman might have at her best. The cherry on top is a relatively young Max von Sydow in a two minute role as a worker in the town, observing and feeling with such pensiveness. A wonderful film. I look forward to Liv Ullmanns adaptation with Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton. Sjöstroms was an influence of Ingmar Bergmans, the great collaborator of Ullmann. I wonder if thats why this one had to be in English. Maybe she loves it too.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 08:15:06 +0000
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