My First Summer with Monika - an essay and my video review. It's one of Ingmar Bergman's finest.

In 1953 director Ingmar Bergman made it what would become one of his most important films called the “Summer with Monika”.

The film tells a story of two young soon to be lovers Monika and Harry that came from them from a medium poor class in Stockholm as they don’t have many perspectives in life until they met.

From that point on they decided to quit their low income jobs and start a relationship that will lead them to leave the entire summer by themselves on an archipelago nearest Stockholm

Harry is a type of man that he’s always late for work and late in life - he will eventually pay the consequences for being always late as the movie progresses and his relationship with Monika too.

As for Monika she’s not an independent woman but at matter of fact she is quite the opposite. She needs someone that can support her in life as well respect and love at the same time. She comes from a family that is totally repressed it by her father that eventually leads her to leave her house and look for refugee with Harry.

Both decided to quit everything they have and embark on a journey for a long summer as Harry steals the boat that belongs to his sick father and together with Monika they leave their lives behind.

On a beautiful sequence of scenes during the summer in the archipelago we witness that the couple engaging on a relationship straightened and now some more psychotic that is seems to be that will lead them to a different approach of their own lives. Monika always shows that her determination that the summer will and should last forever as Harry’s money and sources goes away starts noticing the need to come back as restart life with a good job and money to support a soon to arrive baby as Monika confess it that she is pregnant.

But then Monika wants anything but not to come back to her life back in Stockholm and she refuses to accept that and she even shows in a scene where she steals some food.

This kind of determination will be present with her from most of the time even in the moments that she shows that she really is fragile. The moment will come in and one of the most precious and important close-ups of movie history.

Bergman and his cinematographer Gunnar Fischer give us a marvelous summer with Monika. Like him we won’t judge Monika we just accept her and try to figure it out her mysterious character that has lots of energy inside at the same time she claims for our pity and help. We are sorry for Harry.

(Daniel Nobre)

---