IBMovies

Release date: 1958-12-26

Rating: 7.3

Votes: 224

Genres: Drama

A traveling magician and his assistants are persecuted by authorities in 19th century Sweden. Their capture, however, didn't bring victory to those in power.

Reviews

CRCulver

The three films that Ingmar Bergman produced at the close of the 1950s – Det sjunde inseglet, Smultronstället and Jungfrukällen – tower so high in his output that one might forget that these were not his only productions of the era. Ansiktet ("The Face", released in English-speaking markets as The Magician) from 1958 is one of his lesser-known films. In mid-19th century Sweden the magician Albert Emanuel Vogler (Max van Sydow) goes from town to town promising people cures for their ailments and performing magic tricks, including what was the sensation of the time, hypnosis. He is joined by his tout (Aake Fridell), his "ward" Mr. Aman (Ingrid Thulin) and his "grandmother" and the troupe's maker of patent medicine (Naima Wifstrand). After fleeing the law after a performance in one town, they pass through the forest and enter another community. Here they are detained by the authorities, so that the physician Vergerus (Gunnar Bjornstrand), the consul Egerman (Erland Josephson) can decide a wager on whether Vogler's tricks are real spiritual powers or scientifically explainable illusions. While Ansiktet should not be overlooked for fans of Bergman, I think it is fair that the film is not ranked among Bergman's greatest achievements. Characterization is pretty slim – we get no idea of why Vogler and his companion chose this life, and Vergerus is so shallow that Gunnar Bjornstrand seems wasted. And had the film ended three minutes earlier it would have been one of Bergman's more powerful conclusions, but instead we get a completely unexpected happy ending that just seems lame. Much of the middle part of the film depends on sex jokes that are funny at times, but I suspect anyone who knows Bergman's great output will continuously be thinking that he's capable of so much more than this. Still, Ansiktet does have a generally thought-provoking dramatic arc, and some moments will prove memorable. I especially admired the battle between Vergerus and Vogler and the magician's breakdown (funny how his temperment appropriately changes with his clothes in this scene).

CinemaSerf

I thought there was something of the slightly menacing John Carradine in Max Von Sydow's performance here, as the eponymous purveyor of bafflement. His troupe arrive in a forewarned small Swedish town that is full of scepticism about the wares and skills of the "Vogler" enterprise. MVS is the master magician, with his wife "Wanda" (Ingrid Thuler), his anti-wart tonic mixing aunt/grandmother (the scene-stealing Naira Wifstrand) and the enigmatic "Tubal" (Åke Fridell) all pulling their weight in this family business. The local police commissioner (Toivo Paulo) is deeply suspicious and demands that before they try out their "gifts" on the more gullible wider population, they demonstrate to a triumvirate of himself, local bigwig "Egerman" (Erland Jospehson) and the downright hostile health minister "Vergerus" (Gunnar Björnstrand). Now try as they might, these detractors just cannot disprove what they are seeing. Can this be real or is the "Vogler" science just too clever for them? What now ensues sees a sophisticated and frequently quite amusing series of battles of wits emerge. Not just between the accusers and the visitors, but soon we see a fracturing dynamic amongst the family itself as cracks begin to emerge and eyes (and hands) start to wander. It's the clever denouement that still holds up well and allows this enjoyably under-scripted poke at science and horror to conclude in an almost workmanlike manner. As ever with Bergman, it's also about the photography - and some of the intensity here, especially around the frequently rather sexually ambiguous wife, focusses on the eyes. Always the eyes. That really works well to build and sustain the growing hint of mystery and intrigue. Even we are not entirely sure what's going on and surely we would be wise to what must be their fraud? Good stuff!

Movie Recommendation

Scenes from a Marriage
1974-09-15
Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.
More...
The Devil's Eye
1960-10-17
Don Juan is sent from Hell to Earth with a mission: to seduce a virgin in order to spoil her pure wedding. The mission becomes frantic when Don Juan falls in love for the first time in centuries.
More...
Auntie Mame
1958-12-04
Mame Dennis, a progressive and independent woman of the 1920s, is left to care for her nephew Patrick after his wealthy father dies. Conflict ensues when the executor of the father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle and tries to force her to send Patrick to prep school.
More...
Once Upon a Honeymoon
1942-11-27
A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.
More...
Brink of Life
1958-03-31
Three women in a maternity ward share their lives and intimate thoughts, and face the choice of keeping their babies or offering them for adoption.
More...
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
1982-06-25
Monty Python perform many of their greatest sketches at the Hollywood Bowl, including several from pre-Python days.
More...
Tulpan
2009-03-04
Asa, a young and cheerful dreamer, returns from his Russian naval service to his sister’s nomadic family on the desolate Hunger Steppe of central Asia, so that he can begin his own life as a shepherd. But before he can tend a flock of his own, Asa must first win the hand of the only eligible girl for miles—his mysterious neighbor, Tulpan.
More...
Touki Bouki
1973-05-10
Mory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.
More...
Zero Kelvin
1995-09-29
Larsen, an aspiring poet in '20s Oslo, leaves his girlfriend to spend a year as a trapper in East Greenland. There he is teamed with a seemingly rough old sailor/trapper, Randbæk, and a scientist, Holm. Trapped in a tiny hut together as the Arctic winter sets in, a complex and intense love/hate relationship develops between Randbæk and Larsen, who are more similar than either would like to admit. A powerful psychological and physical drama set against stunningly bleak Arctic scenery.
More...
B.B. King - Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2011
2012-03-20
On June 28, 2011, the "King of the Blues" B.B. King played to an adoring sold-out crowd at London's spectacular Royal Albert Hall. It was another unforgettable night in the career of one of the most legendary bluesmen to ever pick up a guitar. Joining the illustrious Mr. King onstage were guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks, "songbird extraordinaire" Susan Tedeschi, The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall and former Guns N' Roses axeman Slash.
More...
Margot
2009-11-30
At the age of forty Dame Margot Fonteyn is considered to be past her best as a prima ballerina and Ninette de Valois is reducing her roles at the Royal Ballet. Then the exciting young Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, a recent defector to the West, comes into her life and her bed and revitalizes her career. Frederick Aashton creates a new ballet for them and they become the golden couple of the ballet world. However, Margot is married to Roberto 'Tito' Arias, a Panamanian politician of dubious repute who is not sympathetic to her calling and is probably faithless. When he is shot and paralyzed for life Margot must carry on dancing well into her sixties in order to pay for his costly treatment though she still collaborates with Rudolf in the occasional ballet.
More...
Family Plot
1976-04-09
Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
More...
LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Super Heroes Unite
2013-05-21
Joker teams up with Lex Luthor to destroy the world one brick at a time. It's up to Batman, Superman and the rest of the Justice League to stop them.
More...
Vampire's Kiss
1989-06-02
A publishing executive is visited and bitten by a vampire and starts exhibiting erratic behavior. He pushes his secretary to extremes as he tries to come to terms with his affliction.
More...
Away We Go
2009-06-05
Verona and Burt have moved to Colorado to be close to Burt's parents but, with Verona expecting their first child, Burt's parents inexplicably decide to move to Belgium, now leaving them in a place they hate and without a support structure in place. They set off on a whirlwind tour of of disparate locations where they have friends or relatives, sampling not only different cities and climates but also different families. Along the way they realize that the journey is less about discovering where they want to live and more about figuring out what type of parents they want to be.
More...
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
1976-01-21
A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores and takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. Slowly, her ritualized daily routines begin to fall apart.
More...
The Hidden Fortress
1958-12-28
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
More...
Umberto D.
1952-01-20
When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.
More...
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot
2018-04-04
On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.
More...