51-496: Autumn Sonata (Swedish: Höstsonaten ) is a 1978 drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman , and starring Ingrid Bergman (in her final film role), Liv Ullmann and Lena Nyman . Its plot follows a celebrated classical pianist and her neglected daughter who meet for the first time in years, and chronicles their painful discussions of how they have hurt each other. It was the only collaboration between Ingrid Bergman and Ingmar Bergman (who were not related). Autumn Sonata
102-462: A better understanding of the film. According to the taxonomy, combining the type with the genre does not create a separate genre. For instance, the "Horror Drama" is simply a dramatic horror film (as opposed to a comedic horror film). "Horror Drama" is not a genre separate from the horror genre or the drama type. Crime dramas explore themes of truth, justice, and freedom, and contain the fundamental dichotomy of "criminal vs. lawman". Crime films make
153-423: A broader range of moods . To these ends, a primary element in a drama is the occurrence of conflict —emotional, social, or otherwise—and its resolution in the course of the storyline. All forms of cinema or television that involve fictional stories are forms of drama in the broader sense if their storytelling is achieved by means of actors who represent ( mimesis ) characters . In this broader sense, drama
204-497: A crafted miniature with Bergman's usual bombast built, for once, into the plot requirements." Conversely, Gary Arnold of The Washington Post felt that its story was "a dubious variation on familiar neurotic themes" in Bergman's work, but also wrote that "one can be impressed by Bergman's instrumentalists while rejecting his composition. ... Autumn Sonata enjoys instant status as an acting showcase." Film critic Roger Ebert ranked
255-514: A faint voice, lamenting her sad woe, as when the swan about to die sings a funereal dirge. It is also possible that the swan song has some connection to the lament of Cycnus of Liguria at the death of his lover, Phaethon , the ambitious and headstrong son of Helios and Clymene . The name Cycnus is the Latinised form of the Greek, which means "swan". Hyginus proposes in his Fabulae that
306-458: A final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement . The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful song just before their death while they have been silent (or alternatively not so musical) for most of their lifetime. The belief, whose basis has been long debated, had become proverbial in ancient Greece by the 3rd century BC and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art. Swans learn
357-580: A live performance, it has also been used to describe the more high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio . The Screenwriters Taxonomy contends that film genres are fundamentally based upon a film's atmosphere, character and story, and therefore the labels "drama" and "comedy" are too broad to be considered a genre. Instead, the taxonomy contends that film dramas are a "Type" of film; listing at least ten different sub-types of film and television drama. Docudramas are dramatized adaptations of real-life events. While not always completely accurate,
408-685: A more central component of the story, along with serious content. Examples include Three Colours: White (1994), The Truman Show (1998), The Man Without a Past (2002), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Coined by film professor Ken Dancyger , these stories exaggerate characters and situations to the point of becoming fable, legend or fairy tale. Examples: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Maleficent (2014). Light dramas are light-hearted stories that are, nevertheless, serious in nature. Examples: The Help (2011) and The Terminal (2004). Psychological dramas are dramas that focus on
459-538: A mother normally loves a daughter. As part of her day-to-day life, Eva takes care of her disabled and paralyzed sister Helena, whom she has taken out of the hospital into her own home. She appears to be the only person who can understand her sister's limited speech ability. The presence of Helena in Eva's house is shocking to the aging mother. She makes a gift of her own wristwatch to Helena, and listens to Eva playing Prelude No. 2 in A minor by Chopin. She immediately re-performs
510-633: A person's life and raises their level of importance. The "small things in life" feel as important to the protagonist (and the audience) as the climactic battle in an action film, or the final shootout in a western. Often, the protagonists deal with multiple, overlapping issues in the course of the film – just as we do in life. Films of this type/genre combination include: The Wrestler (2008), Fruitvale Station (2013), and Locke (2013). Romantic dramas are films with central themes that reinforce our beliefs about love (e.g.: themes such as "love at first sight", "love conquers all", or "there
561-464: A specific approach to drama but, rather, consider drama as a lack of comedic techniques. Examples: Ghost World (2001) and Wuthering Heights (2011). According to the Screenwriters' Taxonomy, all film descriptions should contain their type (comedy or drama) combined with one (or more) of the eleven super-genres. This combination does not create a separate genre, but rather, provides
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#1732783196294612-621: A swan-like end, / Fading in music." Similarly, in Othello , the dying Emilia exclaims, "I will play the swan, / And die in music." A madrigal by Orlando Gibbons , " The Silver Swan ", states the legend thus: The silver Swan, who living had no Note, when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat. Leaning her breast against the reedy shore, thus sang her first and last, and sang no more: "Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes! "More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise." Other poets who have taken inspiration from
663-468: A variety of sounds throughout their lifetime. Their sounds are more distinguishable during courting rituals and not correlated with death. In Greek mythology , the swan was a bird consecrated to Apollo , and it was therefore considered a symbol of harmony and beauty and its limited capabilities as a singer were sublimated to those of songbirds . Aesop 's fable of " The Swan and the Goose " incorporates
714-459: A winter visitor to parts of the eastern Mediterranean, possesses a 'bugling' call, and has been noted for issuing a drawn-out series of notes as its lungs collapse upon expiry, both being a consequence of an additional tracheal loop within its sternum. This was proposed by naturalist Peter Pallas as the basis for the legend. Both mute and whooper swans appear to be represented in ancient Greek and Egyptian art. The whooper swan's nearest relatives,
765-412: Is a mode distinct from novels, short stories , and narrative poetry or songs . In the modern era, before the birth of cinema or television, "drama" within theatre was a type of play that was neither a comedy nor a tragedy . It is this narrower sense that the film and television industries, along with film studies , adopted. " Radio drama " has been used in both senses—originally transmitted in
816-526: Is a final fight to the death; the idea of the protagonists facing death is a central expectation in a war drama film. In a war film even though the enemy may out-number, or out-power, the hero, we assume that the enemy can be defeated if only the hero can figure out how. Examples include: Apocalypse Now (1979), Come and See (1985), Braveheart (1995), Life Is Beautiful (1997), Black Book (2006), The Hurt Locker (2008), 1944 (2015), Wildeye (2015), and 1917 (2019). Films in
867-449: Is a popular belief that the swans' song is sorrowful, but Socrates prefers to think that they sing for joy, having "foreknowledge of the blessings in the other world". Aristotle noted in his History of Animals that swans "are musical, and sing chiefly at the approach of death". By the third century BC the belief had become a proverb. Ovid mentions the legend in "The Story of Picus and Canens": In tears she poured out words with
918-504: Is not as talented as the mother (despite the fact that she has written two books and plays the piano passably). Eva's main concern is to be the mistress of her home, wife, mother, and loving sister. It is gradually learned through her dialogue with her mother that her life has had a large number of unfortunate setbacks: she respects but does not love her husband Viktor, their son Erik drowned one day short of what would have been his fourth birthday, and Charlotte never appears to have loved Eva as
969-421: Is someone out there for everyone"); the story typically revolves around characters falling into (and out of, and back into) love. Annie Hall (1977), The Notebook (2004), Carol (2015), Her (2013) , and La La Land (2016) are examples of romance dramas. The science fiction drama film is often the story of a protagonist (and their allies) facing something "unknown" that has the potential to change
1020-722: Is the title of a posthumously published collection of songs by Franz Schubert , written at the end of his life. It is the title usually given to Heinrich Schuetz ' Opus 13 from 1671, the year before he died. The term is often applied in a similar way to the works of modern musicians, such as David Bowie 's Blackstar , Johnny Cash 's rendition of Hurt , J Dilla's Donuts , Queen 's Innuendo and Nirvana 's rendition of Where Did You Sleep Last Night . A dramatic or notable achievement by an athlete just prior to their retirement, such as baseball player Derek Jeter 's walk-off hit in his final game at Yankee Stadium , might also be referred to as their "swan song". An example, in
1071-422: Is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-genre, macro-genre, or micro-genre, such as soap opera , police crime drama , political drama , legal drama , historical drama , domestic drama , teen drama , and comedy-drama (dramedy). These terms tend to indicate a particular setting or subject matter, or they combine a drama's otherwise serious tone with elements that encourage
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#17327831962941122-416: The trumpeter and tundra swans , share its musical tracheal loop. Zoologist D.G. Elliot reported in 1898 that a tundra swan he had shot and wounded in flight began a long glide down whilst issuing a series of "plaintive and musical" notes that "sounded at times like the soft running of the notes of an octave". The notion that swans sing a final song before dying continued to influence Western culture into
1173-763: The western super-genre often take place in the American Southwest or Mexico, with a large number of scenes occurring outdoors so we can soak in scenic landscapes. Visceral expectations for the audience include fistfights, gunplay, and chase scenes. There is also the expectation of spectacular panoramic images of the countryside including sunsets, wide open landscapes, and endless deserts and sky. Examples of western dramas include: True Grit (1969) and its 2010 remake , Mad Max (1979), Unforgiven (1992), No Country for Old Men (2007), Django Unchained (2012), Hell or High Water (2016), and Logan (2017). Some film categories that use
1224-493: The Apes (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Children of Men (2006), Interstellar (2014), and Arrival (2016). In the sports super-genre, characters will be playing sports. Thematically, the story is often one of "Our Team" versus "Their Team"; their team will always try to win, and our team will show the world that they deserve recognition or redemption;
1275-407: The audience jump through a series of mental "hoops"; it is not uncommon for the crime drama to use verbal gymnastics to keep the audience and the protagonist on their toes. Examples of crime dramas include: The Godfather (1972), Chinatown (1974), Goodfellas (1990), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Big Short (2015), and Udta Punjab (2016). According to Eric R. Williams ,
1326-533: The characters' inner life and psychological problems. Examples: Requiem for a Dream (2000), Oldboy (2003), Babel (2006), Whiplash (2014), and Anomalisa (2015) Satire can involve humor, but the result is typically sharp social commentary that is anything but funny. Satire often uses irony or exaggeration to expose faults in society or individuals that influence social ideology. Examples: Thank You for Smoking (2005) and Idiocracy (2006). Straight drama applies to those that do not attempt
1377-473: The course of the film. Thematically, horror films often serve as morality tales, with the killer serving up violent penance for the victims' past sins. Metaphorically, these become battles of Good vs. Evil or Purity vs. Sin. Psycho (1960), Halloween (1978), The Shining (1980), The Conjuring (2013), It (2017), mother! (2017), and Hereditary (2018) are examples of horror drama films. Day-in-the-life films takes small events in
1428-817: The dialogue is in Swedish, most of the crew and actors were Swedish, and the world premiere was in Stockholm. Peter Cowie , in the notes to the Criterion DVD edition of the film, summarizes the production, stating: "Shot in Norway, with British and American backing, and featuring Swedish dialogue, Autumn Sonata emerged from one of the darkest spells in Ingmar Bergman's life. In 1976 he had gone into voluntary exile in Munich after being accused of evading tax on
1479-535: The earliest being Pliny the Elder : in CE 77, Natural History (book 10, chapter xxxii: olorum morte narratur flebilis cantus, falso, ut arbitror, aliquot experimentis ), states: "observation shows that the story that the dying swan sings is false." Peterson et al. note that Cygnus olor is "not mute but lacks bugling call, merely honking, grunting, and hissing on occasion." However, the whooper swan ( Cygnus cygnus ),
1530-542: The early modern era. For instance, Chaucer 's Parlement of Foules contains a reference to "the Ialous swan, ayens his deth that singeth [the jealous swan, that sings at his death]". Leonardo da Vinci also mentioned the legend in his notebooks: "The swan is white without spot, and it sings sweetly as it dies, that song ending its life." In Shakespeare 's The Merchant of Venice , Portia exclaims "Let music sound while he doth make his choice; / Then, if he lose, he makes
1581-481: The family as a whole reacts to a central challenge. There are four micro-genres for the family drama: Family Bond , Family Feud , Family Loss , and Family Rift . A sub-type of drama films that uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience. Melodramatic plots often deal with "crises of human emotion, failed romance or friendship, strained familial situations, tragedy, illness, neuroses, or emotional and physical hardship". Film critics sometimes use
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1632-448: The film at No. 5 in his list of 10 Best Films of 1978 . Retrospective evaluation is favorable. In 2002, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club wrote, "When it was released in 1978, Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata received positive to indifferent reviews, written off by many as a minor work from a great director. ... With the burden of high expectations lifted, Autumn Sonata can finally be seen as an austerely beautiful meditation on death and
1683-416: The future of humanity; this unknown may be represented by a villain with incomprehensible powers, a creature we do not understand, or a scientific scenario that threatens to change the world; the science fiction story forces the audience to consider the nature of human beings, the confines of time or space or the concepts of human existence in general. Examples include: Metropolis (1927), Planet of
1734-717: The general facts are more-or-less true. The difference between a docudrama and a documentary is that in a documentary it uses real people to describe history or current events; in a docudrama it uses professionally trained actors to play the roles in the current event, that is "dramatized" a bit. Examples: Black Mass (2015) and Zodiac (2007). Unlike docudramas, docu-fictional films combine documentary and fiction, where actual footage or real events are intermingled with recreated scenes. Examples: Interior. Leather Bar (2013) and Your Name Here (2015). Many otherwise serious productions have humorous scenes and characters intended to provide comic relief . A comedy drama has humor as
1785-416: The hallmark of fantasy drama films is "a sense of wonderment, typically played out in a visually intense world inhabited by mythic creatures, magic or superhuman characters. Props and costumes within these films often belie a sense of mythology and folklore – whether ancient, futuristic, or other-worldly. The costumes, as well as the exotic world, reflect the personal, inner struggles that the hero faces in
1836-511: The income from certain films... Autumn Sonata... marks the swan song of Ingrid Bergman’s career, fulfilled her long-held desire to make a film with her namesake." The piano piece in the film is Frédéric Chopin 's Prelude No. 2 in A minor played by Käbi Laretei , whose hands are shown whenever Ingrid Bergman is depicted playing the piano. In the Chicago Reader , Dave Kehr opined that Autumn Sonata "makes good chamber music: it's
1887-404: The landing she starts shouting, "Mama, come!" In the morning Charlotte prepares for her departure. Eva goes to the grave of her departed son, and her husband ineffectively tries to soothe her ailing sister. Charlotte asks for a friend to escort her away by train. While speaking to her agent Paul on the train, she begins to question the unfortunate fate of her disabled and paralyzed daughter, asking
1938-410: The legal system. Films that focus on dramatic events in history. Focuses on doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and ambulance saving victims and the interactions of their daily lives. Focuses on teenage characters, especially where a secondary school setting plays a role. Swan song The swan song ( Ancient Greek : κύκνειον ᾆσμα ; Latin : carmen cygni ) is a metaphorical phrase for
1989-541: The legend include Alfred, Lord Tennyson , whose poem "The Dying Swan" is a poetic evocation of the "wild swan's death-hymn"; and Samuel Taylor Coleridge , who quipped: "Swans sing before they die— 't were no bad thing / Should certain persons die before they sing." The phrase "swan song" has also taken on a metaphorical sense, referring to the final work of a creative artist, especially when produced shortly before death, or more generally to any final performance or accomplishment. For example, Schwanengesang ( Swan Song )
2040-518: The letter. Due to his battle with the Swedish tax authorities at the time, Ingmar Bergman produced Autumn Sonata through his West German company, Personafilm GmbH, with main financing from Lew Grade 's British ITC Film , and shot the film in an old film studio outside Oslo in Norway . Although formally a German production (with the German title, Herbstsonate , being the official original title),
2091-525: The mournful Cycnus, who is transformed into a swan by the gods, joins the dirge of the amber-crying poplars, the Heliades , the half-sisters of the dead Phaethon, who also experienced a metamorphosis at the death of the reckless Phaethon. The most familiar European swan, the mute swan ( Cygnus olor ), although not actually mute, is known neither for musicality nor to vocalize as it dies. This has led some to criticize swan song beliefs since antiquity, one of
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2142-416: The nightmare. Mother and daughter begin an impassioned rediscovery and clarification of their past relationship. Eva's husband overhears this unexpectedly heightened exchange but decides not to participate or interfere. Hearing this impassioned exchange, her disabled younger sister painfully forces herself out of her bed and starts crawling up to the stairs to where Eva and Charlotte are arguing. Upon reaching
2193-528: The not-always-realized possibility of reconciliation across generations." The film has an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 30 reviews with the consensus: "A melancholy meditation on the unresolvable tension between parent and child, Autumn Sonata is a fitting swan song for the great Ingrid Bergman." Drama (film and television) In film and television , drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction ) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind
2244-450: The same prelude after Eva finishes in her own preferred interpretation of the music. Before going to bed, Charlotte decides to make a gift of her own car to her daughter. She plans to take a flight home, and buy a new car for herself, as a measure of her altruism. At night, Charlotte wakes up from a nightmare: it seems that one of her daughters is choking her. She goes into the living room followed by Eva, who had heard her mother screaming from
2295-534: The story does not always have to involve a team. The story could also be about an individual athlete or the story could focus on an individual playing on a team. Examples of this genre/type include: The Hustler (1961), Hoosiers (1986), Remember the Titans (2000), and Moneyball (2011). War films typically tells the story of a small group of isolated individuals who – one by one – get killed (literally or metaphorically) by an outside force until there
2346-525: The story." Examples of fantasy dramas include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Life of Pi (2012). Horror dramas often involve the central characters isolated from the rest of society. These characters are often teenagers or people in their early twenties (the genre's central audience) and are eventually killed off during
2397-531: The swan song legend as saving its life when it was caught by mistake instead of the goose but was recognized by its song. There is a subsequent reference in Aeschylus ' Agamemnon from 458 BCE. In that play, Clytemnestra compares the dead Cassandra to a swan who has "sung her last lament". In Plato 's Phaedo , the character of Socrates says that, although swans sing in early life, they do not do so as beautifully as before they die. He adds that there
2448-578: The term "pejoratively to connote an unrealistic, pathos-filled, camp tale of romance or domestic situations with stereotypical characters (often including a central female character) that would directly appeal to feminine audiences". Also called "women's movies", "weepies", tearjerkers, or "chick flicks". If they are targeted to a male audience, then they are called "guy cry" films. Often considered "soap-opera" drama. Focuses on religious characters, mystery play, beliefs, and respect. Character development based on themes involving criminals, law enforcement and
2499-406: The unanswerable question: "Why couldn't she die?" Her older daughter sends her mother a letter starting with: "I realize that I wronged you." The mother apparently reads the letter that concludes by leaving open the possibility of a future reconciliation, though the closing shot is of Viktor putting the letter in the envelope, leaving the possibility that he, or Eva, merely envisioned Charlotte reading
2550-498: The word "comedy" or "drama" are not recognized by the Screenwriters Taxonomy as either a film genre or a film type. For instance, "Melodrama" and "Screwball Comedy" are considered Pathways, while "romantic comedy" and "family drama" are macro-genres. A macro-genre in the Screenwriters Taxonomy. These films tell a story in which many of the central characters are related. The story revolves around how
2601-411: Was the last of Ingmar Bergman's films to be made for theatrical exhibition; all of his films made after it, even those screened in theatres, were television productions. Eva, wife of the village pastor, invites her mother Charlotte for a visit to her village. She has not seen her for over seven years. Her mother is a world-renowned pianist, somewhat eccentric, aging, and has survived several husbands. Eva
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