The Hour of the Wolf (1968) « Droppin Science on Film

The Hour of the Wolf (1968)

07Oct08

The Hour of the Wolf IMDB Link

Directed By: Ingmar Bergman

Written By: Ingmar Bergman

Starring: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann

The Hour of the Wolf is a film that David Lynch finds himself constantly returning to. The influence is obvious as you are unsure of when and what is reality and characters seem slightly off kilter creating a sense of unease. The experience also demands the viewer invest themselves in the picture to unravel layers of meaning and intent instead of guiding them along passively.

The interesting thing about both film makers is they remind me of Salvador Dali and Picasso. When watching their films they are undoubtedly masters of their craft, using every type of verb, noun and adjective to make you feel what they want you to feel and see what they want you to see but like the painters nothing is obvious and nothing is standard. Instead, they use their mastery of the craft to delve into that deep recess of your mind, the hidden and often dark parts.

The Hour of the Wolf seems to me a very personal film for Bergman. He had a relationship with Liv Ullmann in real life and in the film she is helplessly in love with an artist losing his mind. But not only is he losing his mind but his psychosis might be penetrating into her, we never really know.

Max Von Sydow, Bergman’s Deniro to Scorcese is a painter living with his wife on an isolated island. He has insomnia and they stay awake well into the hour of the wolf, the time he describes as, “the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their deepest fear, when ghosts and demons are most powerful.”

Here he tells her of strange stories from his past involving his parents and even murder. He also shows her several drawings he made involving all types of creatures that we meet later in “reality” They are invited as guests to a castle with upper society members in an amazingly filmed sequence. The camera spins around the table as the rich people cackle on incessantly making Johan dizzy. Whip pans and long lenses capture the different expressions of the people, some clearly dripping with sarcasm others looking through the husband and wife with their judging eyes. It seems they invited him simply to destroy him mentally questioning his artistic intent and even his sex life.

Eventually we learn that they have been planning an elaborate prank that manifests itself in a deranged, strange dream-like final sequence involving the aristocrats turning into the creatures he drew. An old lady rips her face off, a strange vampire looking guy starts crawling on the walls and it leads to our artist friend attempting necrophelia on a long lost love only to be laughed at by everyone.

The situation of reality is always at question in almost every minute of the film. When it begins we realize that the wife is telling the story of her husband to a TV reporter. The past sequences are shot in ultra high contrast. Flash backs seen through a reading of a diary. And so much of reality is questioned simply because of the mental state of the husband and wife. This constant unknowing has such an undeniable tone and feel that very few makers are able to create.

Ultimately this is a dark and depressing film and perhaps was how Bergman viewed himself, showing the world how he see’s it. I don’t really know and I couldn’t tell you what the film was about after only one viewing. This film is definitely not for everyone as that feeling I was talking about, the strangeness, the willingness to linger in silence all make the short film feel like four hours long. But Bergman will always fascinate me and I’m looking forward to exploring more of his work. Regardless if you like his content, his film making prowess is undeniable.