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Smiles of a Summer Night
Sommernattensleende

Ingmar Bergman  •   Sweden  • ​  1955
109 mins  •  HD •  R16
In Swedish with English subtitles

In turn-of-the-century Sweden, four sets of mismatched lovers attempt to navigate the laws of attraction over the course of a single summer weekend. 
​
“An intricate, lyrical and surprisingly bawdy study of elegant carnality that deserves to rank among Bergman’s finest achievements.” – Empire
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: Ingmar Bergman
PRODUCER: Allan Ekelund
PRODUCTION CO: Svensk Filmindustri
PHOTOGRAPHY: Gunnar Fischer
EDITOR: Oscar Rosander
MUSIC: Erik Nordgren​
WITH: Ulla Jacobsson (Anne Egerman), Eva Dahlbeck (Desiree Armfeldt), Harriet Andersson (Petra), Margit Carlqvist (Countess Charlotte Malcolm), Gunnar Björnstrand (Fredrik Egerman), Jarl Kulle (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm), Åke Fridell (Frid), Björn Bjelfvenstam (Henrik Egerman), Naima Wifstrand (Mrs. Armfeldt), Jullan Kindahl (Beata), Gull Natorp (Malla), Birgitta Valberg (Actress), Bibi Andersson (Actress)​
​
FESTIVALS: Cannes

REVIEWS

“After fifteen films that received mostly local acclaim, the comedy Smiles of a Summer Night at last ushered in an international audience for Ingmar Bergman… Chock-full of flirtatious propositions and sharp witticisms delivered by such Swedish screen legends as Gunnar Björnstrand and Harriet Andersson, Smiles of a Summer Night is one of cinema’s great erotic comedies.”

– Criterion.com

“Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night boasts a sturdy group of technical workers, a uniformly brilliant cast, a perpetually witty and nuanced script, and above all else, smart, clear-sighted direction from Bergman, but there’s also an essential madness to it. Even in its unerring philosophical insights into sexuality, romance, and male and female psychology, the film’s humor and deep warmth are only fully palpable due to the sublime lunacy that runs underneath it all, erupting in passages of lustful exuberance. In telling the tale of mismatched lovers left to their own devices on a two-day trip during Sweden’s brief summer cycle, Bergman imbues the material with a personal confliction between his darker, more dreary existential proclivities and the earthy, gregarious humility that he yearns to fully embrace: a simple life full of simple pleasures.”

– Chris Cabin, Slant Magazine


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

​Nelson   
Tuesday, 15 March, 6:00pm

​Wellington   

Monday, 4 April, 6:15pm

Dunedin
​Wednesday, 20 April, 7.30pm

​
Palmerston North
​Wednesday, 11 May, 6.00pm

​
Tauranga
​Tuesday, 2 June, 6:30pm

Whanganui

Monday, 27 June, 7:00pm

​
​Canterbury  
Monday, 25 July, 7.00pm

​Auckland   
Monday, 12 December, 6:15pm


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New Zealand Federation of Film Societies  |  PO Box 9544, Te Aro, Wellington, NZ  
Phone: +64 4 385 0162  |  Fax: +64 4 801 7304  |  Email: 
michael@nziff.co.nz
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2022 SEASON
    • ROBERT ALTMAN
    • SCANDINAVIA
    • BREAKING THROUGH
    • CONTEMPORARY WORLD
    • CLASSIC & CULT
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CONNECTIONS
    • AFRICAN CINEMA
    • GERMAN CINEMA