Set in 1910, Bergman’s late masterpiece traces the joys and sorrows of the Ekdahls, a family of theatre performers in the town of Uppsala (his birthplace). The broad canvas includes the local bishop, a zealot who marries one of the Ekdahl women and incarcerates her children in the dreary church mansion. Those stalwart pillars of Bergman’s world, church and theatre, collide in headlong opposition, the one representing dignity and repression, the other hedonism and generosity. From its spectacular opening Christmas celebrations, Fanny and Alexander is an elegiac, magical film in which all of Bergman’s old ghosts are laid to rest.

Notes by David O’Mahony.

This film screens as part of BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL: THE FILMS OF INGMAR BERGMAN.

See the full collection of films on IFI@Home, launching February 1st.