6/10
Early Bergman has its moments
21 February 2021
Bergman is still making his way here, with a story that revolves around the struggle to be accepted by society if one has a stain on one's past. A man meets a woman who's missed her train, and they have a fling which leads to deeper feelings. The trouble is, he's fresh out of prison, she's pregnant from some other one-night stand, and they're both broke. The fact that the man has trouble accepting the woman's pregnancy initially was an interesting touch, since he too is judged for mistakes he's made, and it's also refreshing to see the open treatment of premarital sex.

The couple seem to get a break from a guy who lets them stay in his cottage and sets him up with a job, but between those who can't accept that an ex-con can go straight or the couple living together "in sin," and those who prey on their simplicity, they have a tough go of it. The film is a condemnation of narrow-mindedness which I liked, but it gets a little heavy-handed in a courtroom scene towards the end, and in the film's final moments, as sweet as the gesture was. The leading couple (Barbro Kollberg and Birger Malmsten) make a good-looking pair and I appreciated what the film was going for, but guard your expectations.
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