The Magician (1958)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Magician (1958) – I. Bergman 

A complicated film that can be enjoyed on a number of levels (which is probably something that could be said about much of Ingmar Bergman’s oeuvre), The Magician is at once a beguiling horror movie, a naughty sex comedy, a meditation on the relationship between the artist and the audience or patron, another querying of faith in the unknown by empiricists, and finally a cheeky riposte to Bergman’s critics.  A travelling group of performers, who may be healers (using Franz Mesmer’s theories of animal magnetism), witches, or simply show-people practiced in the art of deception ready to create an entertainment, is hauled in front of the leading citizens (including the police chief and medical examiner) of an unnamed capital city. They are interrogated about their true selves/abilities/purposes and forced to reveal the secrets of their arts. Their leader is Vogler (von Sydow) who is declared to be mute and wears a Jesus/Mephistopheles beard – he will later rise from the dead, perhaps to do harm or perhaps as testament to the divine power of his art. Meanwhile downstairs, the other members of his troupe fraternise with the help, offering them love potions and prophecies. Everyone seems to have a different relationship with these artists, representing how artists are treated by different cross-sections of society. The artists themselves may be full of doubt and despair about their motives for performing, their abilities, and their message. One could write a treatise here but suffice it to say the film looks gorgeous and is thoroughly watchable even if one doesn’t seek to analyse it – these artists hope to entertain as well as communicate something deeper.