Prison

Bergman’s first feature from his own screenplay. An ambitious movie-within-a-movie following a writer, played by Malmsten, who falls for a prostitute, played by Svedlund. Bergman proffers a dark—bordering on nihilistic—point of view throughout and flexes his formal muscles in an extended dream sequence. The result didn’t resonate—the dream sequence felt pretentious—but I appreciated the uncompromising vision. The scene where Malmsten and Svedlund laugh at a silent film’s inanity to escape their own misery proved a standout.