A Ship to India (1947) User Reviews

One of Bergman's first films is one of his most interesting

[saltsan · 7/10 · 13 August 2001]

But it's not one of his best. The characterizations of the film's protagonists are inconsistent from scene to scene and some of them leave a viewer with many unanswered questions (like the mother's motivations.) Beyond that, the cinematography is pretty dowdy, particularly the exterior footage.

Still, it has elements that Bergman fans will recognize from his more famous films, and it contains sequences of despair and anguish that can haunt a viewer days later. Birger Malmsten, who plays the lead character Johannes and who will be seen in several later Bergman films, is immensely likable and compelling as the hunchback son who finally stands up to his despotic father. While many of the early Bergman films are uninteresting at almost every level ("Port of Call," for instance) this one is well worth a look for the hard core Bergmaniac, if you can find it.

A Drowning Man, A Falling Woman...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 4 February 2023]

Alexander's a terrible parent, his attitude completely aberrant, treats Alice a slave, gallivants misbehaves, believes Sally can make him content (he's never come to terms with his son's affliction).

Alice's dream has been shattered, the cottage and pension in tatters, her husbands' new hopes, leave her on the ropes, their love, devotion, all but scattered (treated like a second class person and casually discarded).

Sally reached for the hand proffered, escaping surrounds she'd been coffered, didn't reckon on Johannes, or her saviour's menace, has to live with the choice going forward (who wouldn't latch onto something that can pull them from the depths).

Johannes back from seven years, at sea to wash away all the tears, finds Sally alone, isolated and prone, sets his sail to remember past fears (afflicted from birth, both physically and psychologically).

Exploring past events between a son and his toxic father, the events leading up to the son's departure and the love he left behind under challenging circumstances. Sincere and great performances in a truly engaging tale.

On the waterfront

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 19 December 2019]

Was only introduced to Ingmar Bergman seven years ago and very quickly he landed on my list of best and most influential directors. He did have occasional disappointments here and there (a vast majority of directors did/do), such as 'All Those Women' and 'The Serpent's Egg'. But he was great once he found his style, and quite a lot of his films are masterpieces such as 'The Seventh Seal', 'Fanny and Alexander', 'Wild Strawberries', 'Cries and Whispers', 'Persona' and 'The Virgin Spring'.

His third film 'A Ship to India' as director, following on from 'Crisis' and 'It Rains on Our Love', is a long way from being one of the master's best. Then again this was very early on in his career and when he was still finding his style properly. For such early Bergman however, 'A Ship to India' is a very interesting film and one can see signs of his distinctive style and themes already, it is also a not bad at all one. Actually thought it was quite well done on the whole.

As always for a Bergman film, there is some very nice photography (though this aspect has certainly been done better and more inspired in later Bergman films). Likewise with good use of very atmospheric locations. Bergman's direction became more refined and instinctive later on, then again it is early days, but one can definitely see a lot of promise here. The script s thoughtful, having the tension and emotion necessary.

The story is unmistakable Bergman in terms of themes and the tensions between the characters are believable. Emotionally it didn't feel cold. The acting is very strong from a chillingly cruel Holger Lowenadler and Birger Malmsten portrays a character worth relating to.

For all those good things, the uneven character writing also works against 'A Ship to India'. It is agreed that motivations are hard to buy, due to them being introduced suddenly without much warning and contradicting anything sad before. There were things crying out for explanation left hanging in the air.

On the most part the photography is fine but parts are a bit on the drab side. Some of the intensity wavers later on, with a few dreary moments.

Summarising, interesting and well done but Bergman is not at his best here. 7/10

Boistrous, Melodramatic Early Bergman

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 25 January 2018]

The baggage the youthful Ingmar Bergman was carrying about his parent's generation finds vivid expression in this, his third feature, from his early "neo-realist" phase, which combines an extremely melodramatic plot about a hunch-backed young man (Birger Malmsten) struggling with the baleful influence of his macho, bullying father (Holger Löwenadler), set against an arresting backdrop of documentary-style footage of life among working folk. The noisy musical score by Erland von Koch marks it out as a very early Bergman.

Some nice moments, but needed focus

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 16 July 2020]

The main characters in this story, told in flashback, are all struggling with life, and in this film Bergman give us a painful father/son relationship that probably reflects the difficulties he had with his own dad. Here the son has grown up a disappointment to his father because of a small hump on his back and a milder personality, while the middle-aged father, a bully, feels as though he's missed out on things in life and wants to run off to the south Pacific with a showgirl. His mother has suffered from abuse over the years, and her husband now wanting to leave seems especially unjust since she worked hard with him in the early days of their business salvaging old boats, which she recounts in one of the film's best scenes. The showgirl herself knows a thing about pathos too; she's been poor and turned to prostitution in the past, giving her a jaded outlook and the belief that love never lasts, so she just wants to be kept comfortable by a man.

With all of the difficult emotions in play the setup was interesting to me, and there are a few beautiful shots along the rocky Swedish coastline as well. Where the film falters is in being overly melodramatic, e.g. the father being made to be going blind on top of everything else, and the son falling for the showgirl. There is a fantastic moment of tension when the son goes diving in a suit that requires his father to manually pump air down to him, but its emotional power and some of the other angst in the film is eroded because it tries to fit so many other things in. Restraint and focus were needed so that the characters and their relationships could have more depth. Bergman was still finding his way here, but nonetheless it's interesting to watch him at this stage of his career.

11.14.2023

[EasonVonn · 6/10 · 13 November 2023]

It really feels very Hollywood ....

But the director himself is a big shadow, a psychoanalytic plot. (I think I've heard that Bergman himself had quite a peculiar family himself). The father plays the role of pure evil here, while the mother is ambivalent, on the one hand the notion of mother is subverted many times by her evil father (looking for a mistress), while always there is a primitive mother here. This subversion might not lead to an Oedipus for a child who grows up under the arms of his mother, but this turns into another transference-like Oedipus.

Both the hero's flight, and his return can be seen as a desire not to be a father per se, and a revenge against his father.

There are glimpses of Bergman's personal style emerging at this moment, but they have not yet taken shape.

Review - Skepp till India Land

[Maxence_G · 6/10 · 22 June 2021]

I was shocked when Bergman called his first film, Crisis, "lousy through and through". But, this time I might agree. Melodramatic might be an appropriate adjective for this film. The directing and the screenplay work in opposite directions. If the directing is perhaps accentuating Bergman's fear concerning his relationship with his father, it is forgetting the romance into making it a lame melodrama.

Again, A Ship to India, Bergman's third film has some interesting ideas and proves his technical abilities. However, this time, due to the essence of Martin Söderhjelm, his formalist ideas (camera angles, lighting, dissolve) works against him.

A Bitter and Anguished Love Story

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 3 December 2010]

After seven years at sea, Johannes Blom (Birger Malmsten) returns to his hometown seeking out Sally (Gertrud Fridh), who is depressed and isolated in her room. Johannes recalls his life seven years ago, when he lived with his despotic and brutal father Captain Alexander Blom (Holger Löwenadler) and his abused mother Alice Blom (Anna Lindahl) in an old vessel working in salvage services. The hunchback Johannes has been rejected by his father since he was born and has survived and grown full of anger. When Alexander discovers that he will be blind in less than one year, he brings his mistress Sally to live with him on board of his ship expecting to leave Alice and travel abroad with Sally. But Johannes and Sally fall in love with each other and the hatred of Alexander for Johannes leads to the family to a tragic end.

"Skepp Till India Land" is the third film of master Ingmar Bergman with the story of a triangle of love among an abusive father, his abused son and his mistress. Captain Alexander Blom is one of the most despicable characters I have ever seen with his tyrannical and indifferent behavior regarding his wife and his own son. Alice Blom is an abused wife that has the only motivation of having a cottage and a pension of Alexander's employers in an after-war period (this is a 1947 film). Johannes is man without self-esteem or self-respect, abused since he was a child that reacts to his father's brutality when he is infatuated on Sally, an anguished and disillusioned showgirl that has no hopes or expectations with men. The result is a bitter and anguished love story. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Um Barco para a Índia" ("A Boat to India")

Bergman's early dysfunctional family theme

[steiner-sam · 6/10 · 28 May 2021]

Released in 1947 and told mostly in flashback, the movie features Johannes Blom, a 1st mate on his cruel father's salvage boat. The father, Alexander, mistreats both his wife and son and dreams of a life he has never been able to attain even as he learns he is going blind. His mistress, Sally, a dancer in a local "variety show" is ready to run away with him. Alice, Johannes' stoic mother dreams only of retirement and living peacefully in a cottage with Alexander.

The tensions escalate when Johannes and Sally fall in love; Alexander's anger explodes and he tries to murder his son. After he fails, Alexander tries to commit suicide only to end up paralyzed. Johannes goes away as a sailor for seven years (a nice biblical length). When he returns he finally persuades a by then psychologically damaged Sally to go away with him.

There is an ambiguous ending.

This dysfunctional family theme establishes something of a pattern for early Bergman.

Proof That Even Great Directors Can Make Terrible Films

[SpaaceMonkee · 3/10 · 2 February 2021]

The Criterion Collection's Ingmar Bergman box set cleverly lures you in by starting off the Bergman "film festival" with Smiles of a Summer Night, an enjoyable film, before immediately proceeding to a disc containing both Crisis and A Ship to India, two of Bergman's earliest works. Crisis was a bad film. A Ship to India is even worse.

The plot, told almost entirely through a lengthy flashback, follows a rather maladjusted son who lives and works on a salvage ship with the frustrated crew, his abusive father, his defeated mother, and, shortly into the movie, his father's younger mistress, a pragmatic prostitute who sings in a variety show. A Ship to India is part coming-of-age movie, part dealing-with-old-age movie, and part (father-son-prostitute) love-triangle movie.

The film plods along through a melodramatic storyline, and along the way, the viewer is treated to a great deal of pretentious, implausible dialogue. There is, however, some interesting camerawork and, at one point, the movie seemed to be moving in a more interesting and thoughtful direction (briefly becoming a 5/10 before crashing down to a 3/10). Overall, though, it's a bad film that should be avoided unless you're watching it to see Bergman evolve as a director.

Very good early Bergman

[zetes · 8/10 · 10 February 2013]

Bergman's third film, and a very good one, indeed. It fits nicely in with his other early melodramas, and has some very recognizable themes, most notably the theme of humiliation which ran throughout his filmography. Birger Malmsten stars as a sailor returning home after seven years. He meets up with his former girlfriend, Gertrud Fridh, whom he promised to marry upon his return. She's a mess. Most of the film is comprised of a flashback to the sailor's earlier life on a salvage vessel captained by his father (Holger Lowenadler). Lowenadler is a cruel man who isn't respected by his crew or his son. After a bender on land, he returns to his ship with Fridh in tow. His wife (Anna Lindahl) works on the ship, too, and Lowenadler straight up tells her that he plans to run away with Fridh in the near future. The oppressed Malmsten, closer to Fridh's age, ends up stealing her and ruining his father's plans, which throws the whole family into a spiral of humiliation and anger. Lowenadler in particular is just fantastic. This is on Youtube, although the video quality is not great.

Not among Bergman's best, But still very good

[princebansal1982 · 4/10 · 15 June 2011]

Ingmar Bergman is one of my top three directors. I have decided to see all his films I can get my hands on. I have seen 18 of his films. And while the most of them are masterpieces, there were a few disappointments. So I was not sure if this film would be any good.

I shouldn't have worried. It was a pleasant surprise because given the low rating, I was expecting at best an average film. While this film is not as good compared to his later work, it is still very good.

Many of themes present here are repeated in his much better films like "Autumn Sonata" and "Sawdust and Tinsel". It is not that visually appealing either. But still it is a work of genius and just a shade less than his best movies. I recommend it to all Bergman fans.

Training on the job for Bergman

[frankde-jong · 6/10 · 13 October 2023]

Two men on a ship are fighting for the affections of a woman. In 1962 Roman Polanski had a breakthrough with this in the film "Knife in the water". In 1947 however Bergman was still learning and the quality of "A ship bound for India" in no way justified a breakthrough.

In "A ship bound for India" the two men are father and son, and by Bergman this signals an autobiographical element, the more so when the father is very authoritarian. The son resists the authority of his father and the woman "only" is a catalyst of this resistance. "Only" is however put a little too mildly because the woman gives the boy the needed self confidence to change his silent resistance into explicit resistance.

The film has some weak points. In the first place the father is too much the bad guy and the son too mucht the good guy. Secondly the father is authoritarian in a fysical way, in other words he is violent. I think the film would have been more interesting had the father been authoritarian in a spiritual way and the fight of the son was not to become as strong as his father but to develop his own personality.

In one scene Bergman shows his potential as the great director he would become. The diving scene, working magnificently with shadwos, is pure expressionism.

Salvaging a wreck from the bottom of the sea, while the real wrecks are ashore

[clanciai · 8/10 · 29 September 2022]

All the Bergman complexes are already here: the dysfunctional family, the tyrannical father, the struggling sex disturbances, the human decadence, the claustrophobia, the inferiority complex, it's all here bundled up in a rotten ship trying to salvage a wreck, with a few able seamen but a captain that constantly ruins everything, it's all sordid and dreadful, even the dialog is constantly strained, the emotional outbursts keep on rolling, but the whole thing is wonderfully filmed with Bergman's famous and unique sense of imagery. A failure of a captain has a hunchback for a son, whom he keeps as a slave more or less, he wants to become a seaman, but the father keeps him hard at work with dirty things, and so there is a constant conflict brewing up. The captain wants to go away and leave everything, wife and son and crew and ship, to escape with a variety girl, but she falls in love with the son, while the captain is going blind. What a mess! It's the son that ultimately goes away, but comes back after seven years to find the wrecks of his previous life and the girl, whom he imagines has been waiting for him for seven years, as he has been dreaming of her for seven years, but that romantic construction is not quite convincing. The assets of the film are the splendid photography and imagery, and a wonderful score by Erland von Koch.

Yawn-inducing early Bergman

[misanthropicpanda · 3/10 · 2 February 2021]

Unpleasant viewing experience. Only mildly interesting part was the exploration and portrayal of female characters. Dialogue was generally laughable.