CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEWS:

JAKE AND BOOMER'S SILVER SCREEN HOMEPAGE

Hello, fellow movie buffs. This page is our tribute to the ground-breaking work of film makers of the 1920's and 1930's. We will offer our views and reviews of selected films from those eras, and at the same time give you the opportunity to tell us what you think. Take a second to check out our links section. Read about our newest section here

ABOUT US

We are graduate students just about ready to be unleashed upon the world. Since we are in our final year, we have some time to kill. We figured it would be fun to give this home page a try.

ABOUT THE PAGE

First, it should be emphasized that we are aiming for quality, rather than quantity. For any given week, we may review no more than one or two movies, but we will try to make each review as detailed and informative as possible. In addition to our discussion of a particular film's content, we will try to provide our readers with a list of credits, hypertext links to other databases, and some background information about stars, directors, production, etc., where possible. Each of us will give his own review and separately rate the movie, using one to five film clip icons. The rating system will be as follows:

Abysmal. Completely lacking in merit -- bad acting, writing, cinematography, etc.

Poor. One or two redeeming qualities, but inferior overall.

Average. Not outstanding in most respects, but worth a viewing.

Good. Solid acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Superior in many respects.

Excellent. A true classic. Superior acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Few, if any, flaws.

...And now our feature presentation

Intermezzo (1936)

Cast ........................................ .....................................Credits
Gosta Eckman . . .Holger Brandt................... ................Studio . . . . Svensk Filmidustri (SF)
Inga Tidblad . . . . Margit Brandt.....................................Director . . . . Gustaf Molander
Ingrid Bergman. . . . Anita Hoffman........... .....................Written by: Gustof Molander
Erick Berglund. . . . Charles Moller........... .......................................Goste Stevens
Anders Henrickson . . . .Sweedish Sailor.........................Music by Heinz Provost
Hasse Eckman . . . . Ake................................................Cinematography by Ake Dahlqvist
Britt Hagman. . . . Ann-Marie.................... .....................Edited by Oscar Rosander

Running Time: 88 minutes.

TAKE ONE: BOOMER

.......Intermezzo is a love story, the hard way. Holger Brandt is a nationally respected concert violinist who has decided that he's had enough touring and would now like to spend some time with his family. That's a great sentiment, but it ignores the fact that the family has become a loveless institution trapping all of its members. Add to this a touch of the mid-life crisis and a beautiful stranger (Bergman), and you've got the recipe for family meltdown. And, that's exactly what happens when Holger decides to run off with his daughter's music teacher, Anita Hoffman (Bergman). In the end, Holger regrets what his decision has done to his family and to Anita, so he decides to go back to his family. As he returns to his hometown, his daughter recognizes him and runs across the street to greet him, and she is struck by a car. Will this traumatic event bring the family back together?

.......Personally, I was a little disappointed with Intermezzo. The movie ended just when the story was getting good--and complicated. Should Holger's family allow him to re-enter that easily? After all, he did cause them great pain. Yet sadly, this fertile emotional ground remains untilled as the film ends with the prognosis for the child being good. This elevates the child's accident to a gimmick meant to accelerate a premature ending. In this regard the movie is like a long fly ball down the line that curves foul at just the last second--briefly exciting but ultimately unfulfilling.

.......Personally, I was a little disappointed with Intermezzo. The movie ended just when the story was getting good--and complicated. Should Holger's family allow him to re-enter that easily? After all, he did cause them great pain. Yet sadly, this fertile emotional ground remains untilled as the film ends with the prognosis for the child being good. This elevates the child's accident to a gimmick meant to accelerate a premature ending. In this regard the movie is like a long fly ball down the line that curves foul at just the last second--briefly exciting but ultimately unfulfilling.

.......Although I felt the story was lacking, I can find much to praise in the technical aspect of the film. The film was beautifully photographed. the lighting was especially good. In many of the earlier films, the lighting is either entirely too bright or depressingly dark. However, here the lighting framed the moods quite nicely. This is not to say that from time to time there wasn't a slight wash-out effect from too much lighting. However, this was mostly a minor problem that didn't detract from an otherwise beautifully photographed movie.

.......I have saved the best part of the movie for last. Intermezzo was the film that brought Ingrid Bergman to Hollywood, and she is by far the most pleasant surprise in this film. She showcased the attributes that made her a true cinematic legend. She was beautiful but not glamorously so; she was vulnerable but able to gather an inner strength; and most of all, she was a great actress. Like all greats, she made the character, in this case Anita, come to life. Watch this film and you will see why she is my absolute favorite actress of all time.

.......Overall, I was a bit disappointed in the story. Other than that, the film was very good. my rating--

TAKE TWO: JAKE

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