Because of an accident at a military drill the recruit Bengt loses his eyesight and becomes blind. He gets to live with relatives in the countryside and meets the young Ingrid. She falls in love with him but Bengt's bitterness also makes him blind to her attentions.
Mai Zetterling Birger Malmsten Olof Winnerstrand Naima Wifstrand Bibi Lindqvist Hilda Borgström Douglas Håge Gunnar Björnstrand Bengt Eklund Åke Claesson John Elfström Rune Andréasson Bengt Logardt Marianne Gyllenhammar Sven Lindberg Barbro Flodquist Segol Mann Ulla Andreasson Svea Holst Georg Skarstedt Reinhold Svensson Mona Geijer-Falkner Arne Lindblad Stig Johanson Britta Brunius Erik Forslund Otto Adelby Ida Otterström Ulf Johansson Show All…
Musiikkia pimeässä, Night Is My Future, Musica nel buio, Música en la oscuridad, Musik im Dunkeln, Zene a sötétben, Музыка во тьме, Musique dans les ténèbres, Sielujen sävel, 黑暗中的音乐, Музика у темряві, Muzyka w ciemności, Música na Noite
Sweden15
FinlandK-16
Finland
Sweden
Action! - of God and Man: Bergman and the Hopelesness Kind
As you can clearly see from my rating, this is hands down my fave romance written and directed by Bergman. In no small part thanks to the magnificent cinematography of Strindberg, who seems to be the one evolving the most with every film. Here you have plenty of wonderful scenes where it's brilliance can be found in its mundanity, so to speak. You get that scene of Malmsten playing piano in the darkness or him walking through a dark street; the composition, lighting, and play with the shadows are incredible. Also, from what I could read, having much of the film wrapped around darkness was done on purpose, as…
Music in Darkness marked a turning point for Ingmar Bergman. While his previous film had its moments, it was in this movie that Bergman truly showcased his potential. The opening scene alone is a testament to his unique vision and willingness to push boundaries. Despite the familiar themes of love and loss, Bergman manages to infuse the story with a sense of strangeness and radicalism that sets it apart from his previous string of films. Once again, we’re presented with a sweeping, sentimental love story, but this time it’s devoid of any overt sentimentality.
In the case of Music in Darkness, the plot unfolds with Bengt Vyldeke, a talented young pianist who tragically loses his eyesight while trying to save…
Read more of my thoughts on Bergman's early films at Psychotronic Cinema.
Music in Darkness is a solid human drama, told in a very sweet and simple manner. The story follows a man blinded and having to enter a world of sound, turning his passion for music into his way of surviving. He must try to live in a new world and find work despite limitations. Music in Darkness shows this new lifestyle, with one montage highlighting the inner workings of a school for the blind. However Music in Darkness also focuses on a romance, one which is very touching and goes from an understanding friendship to a kind, eternal love. Compared to some of Bergman's even earlier works, Music…
Bergman is still fumbling for identity in this early melodrama, exploring familiar thematic territory from a romance orientated plot that is too similar to his previous efforts to be particularly noteworthy. However, it does offer a sympathetic and affecting observation of blindness and the frustrations, anxieties and bitterness that come with this new affliction suddenly imposed on talented musician Bengt, played once again by Birger Malmsten, with whom Bergman evidently had a fruitful early working relationship and his performance here is one of his best yet; pretending to be blind requires extra nuance and a different approach to acting that he really does quite well.
There are glaring narrative devices here that are incredibly clumsy and stand out like a…
Birger Malmsten's maturing is painted with broad brushstrokes, but Mai Zetterling gives a lovestruck performance reminiscent of Joan Blondell's larger than life eyes in an early Bergman which lightly threads on blindness as disability and blindness as human condition.
(Also features Gunnar Bjornstrand almost halfway through, introduced as an idiot because he wears this, which frankly is the least of his problems. Seriously. I suppose, compared to It Rains On Our Love, he is moving up in the world..?)
After watching Persona the other week, I’ve decided to explore a little bit more of Bergman’s work, starting from almost the very beginning.
Here, Bergman paints a very unflattering portrait of society. We follow a blind man, who is taken for granted, exploited for money, and otherwise disregarded by those around him as this useless cripple. It really is heartbreaking to see.
However, it is a beautifully told story of two people falling in love, under poor circumstances, neither of which would have wished for. Their social status adjusts and their outlooks align, it truly is something special.
There truly isn't much I could fault about this film at all! The score is hauntingly beautiful, and compliments the atmosphere perfectly. The story is fairly straightforward, I've heard other Bergman films are a lot more complex than this, so I am looking forward to exploring more of his filmography!
I wouldn't be unhappy, we are only that when we are together.
Music education, particularly in regards of learning to play piano, was somewhat of a subtle connection between these early Bergman films, yet here it took center stage alongside the director's continued tackling of societal injustice. What really set this apart was its imagery bordering on nightmarish in contrast with intimate and soft ambiance.
Oh yes, I got my eyes on you now, Bergman.
When I told my girlfriend she smelled “like calfskin, like sweet milk” she was raging.
honest, hopeful and empathetic; not really an essential early bergman but it's still an interesting watch
Light and dark skillfully collide in this thematic, crowd-pleasing melodrama that explores romantic blindness in the context of classism, rehabilitation, and anti-war sentiment.
The Svensk Filmindustri had almost pulled its confidence from Bergman after the failure of CRISIS (1946), which meant he was arm-wrestled to make this one (his fourth film) a commercial success. Tonally, it shows. Visually, there’s still a lot to appreciate. Some gorgeous low-key, high-contrast use of shadow, deep focus, and composition. Twisted set pieces and angular dreamscapes recall the great German expressionism films of Robert Wiene, notably THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920).
I dig the Dali-esque mise-en-scene of these moments. Really gets you into the darkened headspace of its blind protagonist. Allows Bergman to link…
I'm slowly becoming a huge fan of Bergman's earliest films. I was on the fence with this one bc I knew it wouldn't be that great but again Bergman brings 'an almost there film' with well, good performances and remarkable directing and dialogue.
I had a good experience with this one so if you have any time, go and see it, it really worth watching. that's it folks, see ya soon
“I wouldn’t be unhappy, we are only that when we are together”
Ingmar Bergman’s Musik i Mörker (Music in Darkness) has a somewhat rough opening with Bengt’s (Birger Malmsten) accident portrayed in such a manner that it’s quite hard to believe it, but as Bergman then quickly showcases a terrifying nightmare-sequence with a mixture of technicality and emotions, there should be no doubts that this is far from lesser Bergman.
The film centers around the aforementioned Bengt, blinded in an accident and how he takes to the music in the piano-playing for a recovery and a comparison to Bergman’s own life isn’t far away. The music becomes a saving grace despite all the despair, bringing Bengt closer to Ingrid (Mai…
