Fanny and Alexander, 2003, Sweden

This film from Ingmar Bergman explores the life of an aristocratic family living in a small Swedish town during the 1900’s. The three-hour long film tells the story of Fanny and Alexander, two children, brother and sister, who witness their father’s illness and death. Their mother than marries a priest (!) and they all go to live with him. They soon realize that their stepfather is a cruel and harassing son of a b…. :) It is interesting to see all they go thru to escape from him. The cruel punishments that the stepfather inflicts on Alexander are difficult to watch, but it is all in the tradition of Swedish realism (see Ondskan). The first part is quite boring because they sing and dance while celebrating Christmas and New Year. This has little to do with the main story. The second part, on the other hand, is a good improvement from the beginning. This is an interesting family saga from one of my favourite film directors.