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It seems like a perfect family vacation: Karin (Harriet Andersson) and
her husband Martin (Max Von Sydow) stay with her father David (Gunnar
Björnstrand) and brother Minus (Lars Passgard) at his house by the sea
for summer.
But not everything is alright: Karin suffers from severe delusions, who
at times completely cloud her mind, while at other times she's completely
rational. And her condition seems to be incurable - which she doesn't know
yet.
One day, during a sane period, Karin finds her father's diary, and
learns not only that her condition is indeed incurable, but also that he
despises her for her condition (probably because she reminds him of his
dead, mad wife), but nevertheless feels compelled to watch her progress,
as if it was nothing but an experiment.
Karin is shocked, but decides to let her husband confront her dad when
the two men are alone on a fishing trip ... and as a result of that
conversation, David evnetually begins to see his own narrow-mindedness.
Meanwhile back at the beach, Karin's dellusional state grows worse than
ever, and young Minus, not up to the situation, can do very little to calm
her down. Eventually, Karin even seduces the boy ...
Later, the men return. In a sane moment, Karin confesses everything to
her dad, and agrees to go back to the mental institution she has been
released from not long ago ... but before the ambulance arrives, she is
gone again (both physically and mentally), and is found in the attic
waiting for God stepping out of the wardrobe (shich she believes He will).
Then the door of the wardrobe actually opens (caused by the ambulance
helicopter that lands by the house), and she sees God coming towards her,
but God is a Spider that wants to eat her up. Karin totally freaks out and
can only be calmed by an injection ...
Martin leads Karin off to the ambulance, but somehow the whole
experience has changed David, as (for the first time) he has a deep talk
with Minus, about God and about love ...
What could have been an incredible piece of kitsch, if done by a lesser
director, or a straight horror film, if produced by let's say Hammer,
turns into a tense family drama, told in impressive pictures and with its
gothic moments, in the hands of director Ingmar Bergman, who really knows
how to get the most of a story like this without becoming ridiculous (in
one way or the other). That Harriet Andersson's central performance is
nothing short of great of course doesn't hurt either.
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