Through a Glass Darkly

A family convene on a Swedish island following the return of the father "David" (Gunnar Björnstrand) from an extended period in Switzerland where has was ostensibly completing his novel. The family consist of his daughter "Karin" (Harriet Andersson) and her doctor husband "Martin" (Max von Sydow) and his seventeen year old son "Minus" (Lars Passgård). From the outset, it's clear that there are issues facing these relatives - they want to be the ideal, loving family but "Karin" has just returned from a psychiatric hospital and her younger brother has issues feeling valued and dealing with the opposite sex. The story is an angst-ridden introspective; each of the family members must look themselves in the mirror and question their attitudes to each other, and themselves. The most potent of these tasks falls to the young "Minus" who has a relationship with his sister that borders on the incestuous, and is further complicated when his sister discovers that her disease in incurable and she turns to him for comfort. Von Sydov and Björnstrand feature quite sparingly - this is really about the two youngsters and it sails very close to the wind in terms of 20th century ethics and morals - whilst also exposing some of the darker elements of human nature and mental illness. Not an easy watch, but it is remarkable.