REVIEWED
“Truth is the only thing worth living for, its worth purgatory.”
- Jan (Keve Hjelm)
Death of a Party... Troubled soul Jan, curious why he can't please his soon to be wife. Returns to the castle where he grew up. We learn in flashbacks that his aristocratic mother lived a sexually charged hedonistic lifestyle in open view of him.
Clinically moody arthouse thats so aesthetically sumptuous and beguilingly structured. 'Nattlek' aka 'Night Games' directed by Swedish Mai Zetterling (who sadly made more films as an actress than she ever got to do as a director), shares the iconoclast sensibilities of Luis Bunuel with the craftsmanship and eye for detail of Jean Cocteau. Its an extremely cold tale of a man fraught with impotence, due to strong feelings for his mother. First half lost me more than once, but its worth sticking through because it builds into a brilliant movie. The only reason I can see why its not better known is shoddy distribution or for being so confrontational.
[Personal Reasons For Remembering]
What a performance by Naima Wifstrand as the harmonica playing batty old arsonist Astrid, especially the scene she sets fire to the paper castle. WTF artistic maiesiophilia ?. The actor playing young Jan nailed it, especially his transsexual scene.
Originally taken from Letterboxd
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