Autumn Sonata
7/28/2025:
I don’t think I like Ingmar Bergman or his films. This one’s short but felt like a three-hour slog through a generic story. The acting is strong, but the dialogue carries no weight, and the story feels tedious, leaving me puzzled why it’s so celebrated when others doing similar things aren’t. Worse, it has distracting technical flaws, like shaky handheld shots and even a hair in the gate. I still have two Bergman films left in the Top 250, and I fear only The Seventh Seal will land for me.
7/15/2026:
This is the second time I've watched this, and I can safely say that I have no idea why it's in the top 25 movies on Letterboxd (currently sitting at #23). Not only do I think it's insane, considering Ingmar Bergman has certainly made better movies like The Seventh Seal and The Virgin Spring, but this also has to be one of the blandest movies I have ever watched. To be fair, there are only a few Bergman films that I would rate above a 5/10, but that's only because I find most of them uninspired.
Like, I get why they're considered good and why people enjoy them, but most of them just feel like vanilla ice cream. Where's the rocky road of David Lynch or the mint of Stanley Kubrick? Akira Kurosawa would be chocolate: rich, classic, and hugely influential. Even though I don't like Wes Anderson, he'd be birthday cake: colorful, meticulously decorated, and either delightful or way too sweet, depending on who you ask. And who could forget Hayao Miyazaki, who would be strawberry: warm, magical, and deceptively profound?
Oh... I got carried away, and now I think I want ice cream... you get the point. Ingmar Bergman plays it safe in most of his movies, and I find them dreadfully boring. Besides the acting and cinematography, there's not much to write home about.
"Yeah, that sure was good vanilla ice cream, but I wish it had sprinkles or chocolate chunks."
I don’t think I like Ingmar Bergman or his films. This one’s short but felt like a three-hour slog through a generic story. The acting is strong, but the dialogue carries no weight, and the story feels tedious, leaving me puzzled why it’s so celebrated when others doing similar things aren’t. Worse, it has distracting technical flaws, like shaky handheld shots and even a hair in the gate. I still have two Bergman films left in the Top 250, and I fear only The Seventh Seal will land for me.
7/15/2026:
This is the second time I've watched this, and I can safely say that I have no idea why it's in the top 25 movies on Letterboxd (currently sitting at #23). Not only do I think it's insane, considering Ingmar Bergman has certainly made better movies like The Seventh Seal and The Virgin Spring, but this also has to be one of the blandest movies I have ever watched. To be fair, there are only a few Bergman films that I would rate above a 5/10, but that's only because I find most of them uninspired.
Like, I get why they're considered good and why people enjoy them, but most of them just feel like vanilla ice cream. Where's the rocky road of David Lynch or the mint of Stanley Kubrick? Akira Kurosawa would be chocolate: rich, classic, and hugely influential. Even though I don't like Wes Anderson, he'd be birthday cake: colorful, meticulously decorated, and either delightful or way too sweet, depending on who you ask. And who could forget Hayao Miyazaki, who would be strawberry: warm, magical, and deceptively profound?
Oh... I got carried away, and now I think I want ice cream... you get the point. Ingmar Bergman plays it safe in most of his movies, and I find them dreadfully boring. Besides the acting and cinematography, there's not much to write home about.
"Yeah, that sure was good vanilla ice cream, but I wish it had sprinkles or chocolate chunks."
Mini Review: I don’t think I like Ingmar Bergman or his films. This one’s short but felt like a three-hour slog through a generic story. The acting is strong, but the dialogue carries no weight, and the story feels tedious, leaving me puzzled why it’s so celebrated when others doing similar things aren’t. Worse, it has distracting technical flaws, like shaky handheld shots and even a hair in the gate. I still have two Bergman films left in the Top 250, and I fear only The Seventh Seal will land for me.
More Reviews of Autumn Sonata
titireviewer
Simplesmente inacreditável! Ingmar Bergman faz de novo, em mais um grande filme, esse dos anos 70, com Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullman e Lena Nymam em foco, acho um filme que transce...
griggs79
Few films capture emotional excavation quite like Autumn Sonata. It’s intimate, brutal, and oddly comforting — like therapy with better lighting. The film unfolds in one ...
Watch the Trailer