Starring: Karen-Lise Mynster, Erland Josephson, Ghita Norby, Torben Zeller, Jesper Christensen
Director: Liv Ullmann
Producer: Lars Kolvig
Screenplay: Liv Ullmann and Peter Poulson from the novel Mendel Philipsen & Son by Henri
Nathensen
Music: various composers
Released by Arrow Entertainment
Danish with English Subtitles
The year is 1886, and, although 28-year old Sofie (Karen-Lise Mynster) has been of marriageable age for a decade, she has yet to find a suitable match. Her parents, Semmy (Erland Josephson) and Frederikke (Ghita Norby), want their only child to choose a cultured, educated Jew, but Sofie is searching for love and passion. She longs for the same kind of rich, affectionate bonding that her parents share. When Sofie falls for the painter Hojby (Jesper Christensen), Semmy and Frederikke become alarmed at the prospect of their daughter marrying a Gentile, and decide to take action, condoning a marriage with the mournful Jonas (Torben Zeller). Sofie at first rejects the match, but, in the face of mounting pressure from her family, she finds herself torn between passion and duty, and is forced to reconsider her original decision.
Anyone seeing Sofie will undoubtedly be struck by the similarities between this film and the work of Ingmar Bergman. Considering those involved in this project, it's not surprising. Sofie marks the directorial debut of internationally-recognized actress Liv Ullmann, who began working with Bergman in 1967's Hour of the Wolf. Also present is actor Erland Josephson, who appeared in numerous Bergman efforts, including 1982's much-lauded Fanny and Alexander.
Nevertheless, although Sofie is a "Bergman kind of story" with Bergman-like characters, Ullmann lacks her mentor's mastery. For a debut, this is an ambitious, although not entirely successful, effort. The greatest flaw lies in Sofie's uneven pacing and choppy narrative style. The first two hours go by too slowly, often allocating excessive time for minor issues while glossing over more important ones (the reasons for Sofie's choice of a husband are almost entirely ignored, as is the psychological struggle accompanying this decision). However, in the final thirty minutes, time accelerates greatly, and events go by too fast.
One recurrent theme that is handled expertly is the inflexibility of time. Once a decision is made, it cannot be undone, and things put off until tomorrow are often never accomplished. In an especially poignant scene, Sofie reflects on how she will soon be a grandmother holding a child in her lap when it seems that just yesterday she was a child sitting in her own grandmother's lap. Moments like these, although perhaps too far apart, recall Bergman at his best.
Taken as a whole, Sofie is an unhappy film, but Ullman shows that even in the most tragic of existences, there are moments of simple joy and triumph. As elements of Sofie's life crumble around her, she finds people to cling to, most often her parents and her son. The simple, happy marriage of her mother and father presents a refreshing counterpoint to her own unfortunate relationship with her husband.
The uneven pacing prevents Sofie from maturing into the compelling narrative it could have been. Nevertheless, although this production lacks many of the subtle touches of an Ingmar Bergman film, the style and focus on character make it unmistakable at whose hands Liv Ullmann learned her latest trade.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli