The Magician (1958), Ingmar Bergman

***½

Relatively early production of Bergman's tells a story of a 17th century magician and his crew

fleeing from town to town in rural Sweden. In a deeper level The Magician is a story about faith and the lack of it, which Bergman so often dealt in his movies. In this film everybody are skeptical towards the man and his powers but in the end, so is the viewer. The crew are forced to stay in a household full of yarls and what not. The magical powers seem to affect differently, as some seek salvation in it and others see it as a work of satan.

The swedish name for this film is Ansiktet, the face, which would be more proper name for it to be called anyway. Because the main character in this film is definately the great Max Von Sydow (almost unregocnisable in his dark make-up) whose face reflects emotions from anger to love.

This is definately one of the darker Bergman films, but captivating in it's use of lingering face close-ups and metaphorical images. Less known, but should be regarded as a masterpiece also.