AN EARLY BERGMAN FILM. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the scenes of postwar Stockholm, the smoky, grimy streets, the primitive eateries, cramped apartments. Working-class Sweden. And I enjoyed the archipelago, and the summery feelings of young love. And I especially enjoyed the “after,” after the summer, what happens to the young lovers who elope and breed. How Harry tries to be a good father, but it’s all too drab and boring for Monika, who wants excitement and affection and attention, and eventually deserts him and their young daughter. One thing it made me yearn for was a world without technology. A world where one just meets someone at a café, goes to a movie, kisses on a city bench, runs away and few seem to notice. Nothing is vibrating, chirping, there are no misread-unread messages or misinterpreted yellow smiling faces. That world I wish I was still in and long to get back inside of.
north! 