Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Shame (1968) finds Bergman exploring a territory quite distinct from his usual habitat of existential angst. This is a film about war but from a distinctive vantage point. Rather than setting his camera on one front line or the other, Bergman exposes the effect of war on a pair of would-be noncombatants. The result is an intense essay on the devastating psychological impact that war can have on ordinary people.

Historical Background: From the mid-fifties through 1963, the primary focus of Bergman films was exploration of mankind’s place in existence, including issues of faith, God’s existence, human relationships, and existential isolation. That period includes some of Bergman’s most justly famous films, including The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Virgin Spring (1959), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Winter Light (1962), and The Silence (1963). After 1963, Bergman turned to what has been dubbed his “dark period”, which examined psychological and moral breakdown from a somewhat nihilistic perspective. The films of the dark period include, notably, Persona (1966), Hour of the Wolf (1968), Shame (1968), The Passion of Anna (1969), Cries and Whispers (1972), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), Face to Face (1976), and Autumn Sonata (1978).

The Story: Eva (Liv Ullmann) and Jan Rosenberg (Max von Sydow) live a life of apolitical isolation, having retreated to a quiet island in the Baltic Sea while war rages on the mainland of Sweden. Formerly musicians, Eva and Jan have abandoned their careers in music for the safety and tranquility of island life, where they make their living growing berries. Their radio doesn’t even work, which happily facilitates their ignorance of the unpleasantness of the world around them. They relate well enough with one another, although Eva exhibits some frustration with Jan’s excessive sensitivity and indecisiveness. Even the rumors of impending invasion of their island they treat with hopeful indifference.

One point of disagreement between the two, however, is that Eva, who is age thirty, wants to move ahead with having children, while Jan seems satisfied with the status quo. Eva believes that one or the other of them has a fertility problem (apparently they haven’t been using any particular form of birth control) and suggests that it is likely Jan because of his promiscuity prior to their marriage (not a medically sound theory on her part). She wants him to be tested. Their lack of reproductive success to date may be the first instance of “shame” for each of them.

The façade of tranquility in their lives is abruptly shattered by low flying jets and the sound of explosions all over the island. One plane crashes and the pilot jettisons nearby. Over Jan’s objections, Eva scurries to determine if the man parachuting to the ground is in need of help, but they find him dead in a tree. Soon, a jeep full of army personnel arrive, warning the Rosenbergs that enemy paratroopers have landed just a few kilometers away and that they had better evacuate. They are slow to act and their old car proves difficult to start; consequently, they are set upon by partisan forces before abandoning their home. This particular unit is a mobile propaganda unit and they tape Eva providing relatively uninformed and incoherent answers to questions about their affiliations and sympathies in relation to the war. Later, the soundtrack is dubbed to make it appear that Eva welcomes the “liberators.”

The propaganda squad leaves and Eva and Jan attempt to flee their home in their vehicle. As the drive along, they encounter dead bodies everywhere – military personnel and civilians – even children. Most of the populace has been massacred. They see no potential in continuing forward and reluctantly return home, cowering in a corner as explosions and gunfire continue nearby.

When the loyalist troops regain the upper hand, Eva and Jan are arrested as “collaborators” on the basis of Eva’s filmed interview. Some of the collaborators are treated harshly and Eva and Jan understandably fear for their lives. They are “rescued” by an influential man on the loyalist side, the mayor of their town, Colonel Jacobi (Gunnar Björnstrand). Jacobi arranges for Eva and Jan to be returned home and helps them stay alive during the on-going military activity by providing them with protection from prosecution as collaborators, food, kerosene, and, finally, money. His help ultimately comes with a price, however, as he increasing presses his interest in sex with Eva, even in front of Jan. Dependent as they are on Jacobi’s favors, Eva obliges Jacobi after Jan falls asleep, having been plied with wine. Eva, having cheated on Jan, and Jan having some complicity in his own cuckoldry now have another source of shame.

From here, Jan’s behavior turns from bad to worse. I won’t go into specifics, so as not to spoil what transpires the rest of the way for readers who decide to see the film. I’ll only indicate that Jan’s moral breakdown is soon complete and unmitigated. The third meaning of “shame” for this film is the shame that war confers on all humankind as well as the shame on Jan for the total lack of moral fiber he ultimately reveals.

Themes: There are multiple themes in this film but foremost among them is that the horrors of war result in a breakdown in the morality of behavior of individuals. In contrast to many of the characters in Bergman films, Eva and Jan are not obviously in a self-destruct mode and likely could have led rather benign lives without the external debilitating influence of war. On the other hand, Jan, in particular, showed distinct evidences of weakness of character even before crisis was thrust upon them. He was revealed already as somewhat craven, selfish, infantile, and indecisive. What Bergman is suggesting, therefore, is the interplay between the large scale human catastrophe that is war and the weaknesses of individual human character. The two are interdependent. War is the aggregation of human failings across many individuals but war also precipitates and aggravates the weaknesses that exist in individuals. It may be true, as one American retailer claims, that Toys “R” Us, but Bergman is adding that Wars “R” Us! Jan and Eva are educated, cultured, and peaceful individuals – left to their own devices – but are easily transformed by the stresses of war into people prepared to engage in acceptance of favoritism, prostitution, and, even, murder.

Certainly, the message of Shame is an appeal to stop the absurdity of war. It is an appeal based primarily on the impact of war on helpless and frightened non-combatants. How effective is Shame in its antiwar appeal? Herein lies my principal reservation about the film. I am already strongly antiwar (though I concede that there are some wars that, morally, must be fought), but Shame in no way strengthens my convictions against war. If one wants to make an effective case in relation to the horrors of war, one ought to draw on real evidence – actual instances of brutality or collaboration or moral breakdown. Bergman’s message is empty rhetoric, I’m afraid, because his “evidence” is entirely fictional – i.e., fabricated. Shame is not about World War II or any other actual conflict. Some reviewers claim that this lack of specific political reference gives the film’s point a degree of universality. In my opinion, it only makes the point easy to dismiss. The war-mongers will conclude that we all know that war (in general) is awful but the war presently underway is the exception – the necessary war. It is interesting, in that respect, that at least two reviews that I encountered criticized Ullmann for attempting to relate the message of the film to specific wars currently underway (in her interview included as an extra on the DVD). These reviewers applaud the film as long as it is seen as critique of the generality of war but not if it is seen as critique of one of “our” wars currently in progress.

Any writer can construct a fictional war story to support any point of view in relation to war to which the author subscribes. The case made by Shame that war is hell and brings out the devil in all of us is no more inherently convincing than the old-time Hollywood films that shamelessly depicted war as glamorous and heroic. While Shame may be, as some critics say, one of the most realistic depictions of war ever filmed, it is only visually realistic, but not factually based. The best way to make the case against war is to depict factually and honestly the actual horrors of actual wars. For me, films like Shop on Main Street provide a much stronger antiwar message.

Production Values: The black-and-white photography of Sven Nykvist is brilliant as always. Using deep contrast, Nykvist provides viewers with a rich assortment of detail. The camera dwells shamelessly on Ullmann’s beautiful features to an extent that reveals her interior strength and deep emotionality. Eva is easily the more sympathetic of the two main characters and our empathy for her derives as much from the camera work as from the story. The scenes illuminating the relationship between Eva and Jan mostly use long takes cutting between the two crossing camera angles, allowing Ullman and Sydow every opportunity to truly get into their performances. The action scenes, by contrast, are filmed mainly with a handheld mobile camera technique, creating a realistic, documentary film style.

Liv Ullmann has delivered so many praiseworthy performances in Bergman films that one begins to run out of superlatives to describe her skills. This is one of her best performances, though I’ve said that before in other contexts. Sydow is also excellent, though he doesn’t get as much concentrated attention from the camera as does Ullmann.

Bottom-Line: Bergman takes a rare foray into the war-film genre in Shame and delivers a gritty, realistic portrayal of the effect of an imaginary war on ordinary people. The performance by Liv Ullmann is not to be missed. I highly recommend this film, though I doubt that the strength of its antiwar message is as great as for a good many other films. The MGM Special Edition DVD includes a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, a choice of Swedish or English audio, a selection of English, French, or Spanish subtitles, a featurette entitled “Search for Humanity”, an interview with Liv Ullmann, an excellent commentary track with Bergman scholar Marc Gervais, a photo gallery, and the theatrical trailer. Shame is in Swedish with English subtitles and has a running time of 103 minutes.


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You might want to check out these other excellent films from Sweden:

The Best Intentions
Cries and Whispers
The Magician
Miss Julie
Persona
Scenes from a Marriage
The Seventh Seal
Smiles of a Summer Night
Through a Glass Darkly
Torment
The Virgin Spring
Wild Strawberries

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age