Bergman 10: A Lesson in Love (1954)

A Bergman "remarriage comedy", to use Stanley Cavell's famous term. Perfectly enjoyable, but a rather minor work, this one. Mostly amusing rather than genuinely funny, I found, though the occasional line or bit of business did raise a proper laugh. Interesting, I suppose, to see themes that are treated tragically in other Bergman films get the comedic treatment, but I'm not sure the comedy is distinctive enough for this to be particularly revelatory. Strong performances all round (Harriet Andersson is very good, seeming about eight years younger than in Summer with Monika from the year before), though Martin Bodin's cinematography sometimes falls below the high standards set by Fischer and Nykvist. The flashback structure is simple enough but does rather neatly allow the narrative to avoid predictability. A shame that the climactic scene in the "seedy" bar panders to uninteresting gender stereotypes that the film previously handles with more self-awareness. There's a particularly prominent cameo in this one (see image above).