Cinema
Torment
Hets
Alf Sjöberg · 1944
Synopsis
Jan-Erik Widgren is preparing for his baccalaureate at a Stockholm secondary school, in the Latin stream; he struggles with Latin and endures the cruel questioning of his teacher, a sadist whom the pupils nickname Caligula. One evening, he finds Bertha in the street, the young shop assistant from the tobacconist's next to the school, drunk and despairing, and takes her home. They become lovers. She lives in fear of a man whose name she refuses to give, and drowns that fear in alcohol; Jan-Erik finds it hard to believe in what she feels for him.
Context
The screenplay is the first that Ingmar Bergman wrote for the cinema; he said it was partly drawn from his own experience, was an assistant on the shoot and himself filmed shots at dawn, added afterwards. Victor Sjöström was then directing production at Svensk Filmindustri. Shot from 21 February to 25 May 1944 at Råsunda and in Stockholm secondary schools, the film was released on 2 October 1944 in Stockholm and seven other cities, and provoked a lively debate on schooling in the press. It brought Mai Zetterling to prominence.
Who it is for
One hundred and one minutes, in Swedish. A dark drama, filmed in a manner close to expressionism.
Prizes and reception
Grand Prix at the Cannes festival in 1946, shared among eleven films; the only Swedish film of the war years to have achieved worldwide renown.
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