Synopsis
In this film about Ingmar Bergman's parents, Henrik Bergman is studying for the priesthood and trying to make ends meet when he encounters the lovely, affluent Anna. Despite their social differences, Henrik and Anna fall in love, wed and move to the country. They lead a quiet life as Henrik works as a priest, but it isn't long before the simple people and plain surroundings make Anna long for a more lavish lifestyle, which causes marital stress.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Samuel FrölerHenrik Bergman
- Pernilla AugustAnna Bergman
- Max von SydowJohan Åkerblom
- Ghita NørbyKarin Åkerblom
- Lennart HjulströmNordenson
- Mona MalmAlma Bergman
- Lena EndreFrida Strandberg
- Keve HjelmFredrik Bergman
- Björn KjellmanErnst Åkerblom
- Börje AhlstedtCarl Åkerblom
Recommendations
- 100
Entertainment Weekly
The Best Intentions is the most moving film I’ve seen this year. - 90
Washington Post
Realized beautifully by director Bille August, Intentions is a moving, profound requiem to all human relationships. - 88
Washington Post
Never mind that Best Intentions, which was filmed both as a six-part TV miniseries and a three-hour movie, is occasionally uneven and sometimes confusing. It remains a rare August pleasure, a film for grown-up audiences that challenges and enriches. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
A deeply satisfying film, THE BEST INTENTIONS, honored with the prestigious Palm d'Or at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, uses its considerable length to examine the early relationship of Bergman's parents with uncompromising thoroughness. - 80
Variety
An epic story of mismatched love shaped in the most intimate terms, the Ingmar Bergman-scripted The Best Intentions packs a sustained emotional wallop that lightens its three-hour span. - 70
The New York Times
For a time, The Best Intentions captures the elements of a profoundly difficult and credible love story, one plagued by essential differences that cannot be resolved. - 70
Christian Science Monitor
It's all very pretty, but its use of motion-picture possibilities is unimaginative. What lifts The Best Intentions above its visual limitations, and makes it seem impressive, is the extraordinary depth and sincerity of Bergman's screenplay. - 67
Austin Chronicle
For those looking to be stylishly entertained while learning more than anyone might ever want to know about the formation of the Bergman psyche, well, here it is.
