Undervalued Bergman film whose themes are pregnancy and birth. I've never seen these subjects discussed in a film with such lucidity. Three women in various states of pregnancy are in a hospital room together. We are first introduced to Ingrid Thulin, who is only a few months pregnant. She has come to the hospital because she has had a hemorrhage. She loses the fetus, which gives her a new view on her relationship with her husband (Erland Josephson). One of her roommates, played by Eva Dahlbeck, is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She has a loving relationship with her husband, and they cannot wait to have their child. The third roommate is Bibi Andersson, a young, single woman who has had an abortion before. She doesn't want this baby, either, but neither does she want to have another abortion. Childbirth really is a frightening thing. Even if the woman has a man, she is alone within herself when the event happens. I think this may be one of Bergman's best films, although the poor quality of the video harmed its effect quite a bit. It had white subtitles, and, since the entire film takes place in a hospital, you could imagine that the white hospital gowns and sheets and such really block the subtitles a good amount of the time. There were certainly some major bits of dialogue that I had no chance of understanding. I eagerly await a proper DVD release, although I'm not going to hold my breath. The three actresses are absolutely brilliant, especially Bibi Andersson, who definitely gives one of her best performances.
Review of Brink of Life
