Summer with Monika

"A Picture for Wide Screens and Broad Minds."

1953 1h 38m SV

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 408

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

One summer day, two teens begin a reckless affair and abandon their families to be with one another.

“A Picture for Wide Screens and Broad Minds.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Harriet Andersson
Monika Eriksson
Lars Ekborg
Harry Lund
Dagmar Ebbesen
Mrs. Lindström
Åke Fridell
Ludwig Eriksson
Naemi Briese
Monika's Mother
Åke Grönberg
Harry's Friend at Work
Sigge Fürst
Johan
John Harryson
Lelle

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writers: Per Anders Fogelström, Ingmar Bergman
Languages: Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Gunnar Fischer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tage Holmberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg and Dagmar Ebbesen carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Picture for Wide Screens and Broad Minds.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0046345 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ingmar Bergman directs. Gunnar Fischer behind the camera. Erik Nordgren scores. Tage Holmberg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

173 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Gunnar Fischer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Tage Holmberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg and Dagmar Ebbesen carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A Picture for Wide Screens and Broad Minds.".
7IMDB entry: tt0046345 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gunnar Fischer
Original score: Erik Nordgren
Editing: Tage Holmberg
Production design: P.A. Lundgren
Costume design: Barbro Sörman
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: SV
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Summer with Monika (1953)

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Ingmar Bergman

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CRCulver2018-06-05
★ 6/10
In Ingmar Bergman's 1953 film SOMMAREN MED MONIKA (The Summer with Monika), young, idealistic Harry (Lars Ekborg) meets the freespirited Monika (Harriet Andersson). Fed up with their dull stockroom jobs as midsummer approaches, they quit and and escape together to one of the myriad islands in the Stockholm archipelago. But while Harry is keen to get back to civilization and further his education in order to support the child they will soon have, Harriet thinks little of the future, pursuing her own whims of the moment. Harry is definitely the protagonist here, and receives the sympathy of the viewer as this bad girl tears his life apart. Upon its release, this film was a major contribution to Sweden's mid-century reputation as a sexually liberated place. However, that's all very much in the past. There is only one scene of (rear) nudity, and for the most part what 1950s audiences found scandalous is just some snogging that wouldn't raise eyebrows today. Still, Andersson does know how to flaunt her sex appeal, her full lips and proportioned figure, to the camera. In my opinion, this is not one of the greatest films of the auteur scene. Ingmar Bergman would go on to create a series of masterpieces that totally shook my world, but SOMMAREN MED MONIKA is a somewhat ordinary study of working class life and a morality tale much like British audiences would start getting with their kitchen sink dramas (e.g. BILLY LIAR) in the following years. There is also a totally contrived -- and rather inexplicable -- fight scene that Bergman needlessly uses to make Harry look chivalrous. Still, it is interesting to see a Sweden of severe class divisions that is now almost gone, with alcoholism-stricken families in dire poverty living alongside more fortunate Stockholm residents who keep servants. The first third of the film is almost like listening to an Allan Pettersson symphony. All in all, the film is entertaining and teaches us something about an earlier time and place, but don't think this is one of the more serious films that established Ingmar Bergman as one of the most daring and insightful filmmakers of the 20th century.

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