I finally finished Fanny & Alexander last night. I was highly impressed with it, as I am all Bergman's work. It took me a while to finish, just because I wanted to savor it, and watch each part with as little interruption as possible, and I eventually succeeded. At first, I wasn't sure if it would be up to the usual Bergman standards, just because the first act seems weak at first. You're introduced to a large amount of characters very quickly, and the narrative seems to lack focus. Looking back on it, after seeing the whole series, it's all essential in creating the portrait of the entire family. In the second act, things got better, and it contains, among plenty of great moments, a classic Bergman Climax where a grieving Emilie howls with sorrow for her late husband as the children listen. It reminded me of the climax in Autumn Sonata where Eva starts a rant towards her Mother with all the things that have been building inside of her, and her voice slowly ramps up intil she's screaming and it's nearly unlistenable. Or, the ending of Through a Glass Darkly, perhaps. I think it's because Bergman's films are so quiet, so haunting and somber, that the climaxes are so jarring.

Once you know the characters and their plights, Acts Three and Four are spectacular, incredibly entertaining and touching at the same time. I'm surprised at how much Bergman manages to get from a viewer here, on so many levels. When he wants you to be entertained, you're glued to your seat. When he wants you to laugh, you'll howl. When he wants you to be touched, you'll feel as if he's reaching into your chest and gripping your heart himself. And at the same time, you'll never feel manipulated in the least. I was sorry to see it end, in fact, I didn't want to say goodbye to Alexander, Gustav Adolf, Maj or anybody else.

It's unusual, in many ways, for Bergman. It's incredibly joyous, full of energy and life. The story is seen through the eyes of a child, and Bergman almost never had children in his films at all. However, as a swan song, it all just feels so right. It's almost a regression, back into his childhood, but with all the cinematic techniques he's learned and honed throughout his many years of work. He's confronting so many things in his childhood that he only dealt with metaphorically in past works. It's simply rapturous.

I can't wait to watch it again.