Port of Call (1948) [The Criterion Collection]

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writers: Ingmar Bergman (screenplay), Olle Länsberg (story)
Stars: Nine-Christine Jönsson, Bengt Eklund, Mimi Nelson

Strongly influenced by the neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini, Port of Call is Ingmar Bergman’s most naturalistic work. Shot on location in the port of Göteborg by Gunnar Fischer (who would become one of the director’s key collaborators), the film focuses on the tentative relationship between Gösta (Bengt Eklund), a sincere, easygoing seaman, and Berit (Nine‑Christine Jönsson), a suicidal young woman from a broken home. As Berit reveals more about her troubled past, and the couple confront many harsh realities in the present, a meaningful bond begins to form between them. With this confident and disciplined feature, his fifth, Bergman tackled moral and social issues head-on.

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