Sunday's Children (1992) User Reviews

Strong Ingmar Bergman script, directed by his son.

[runamokprods · 8/10 · 6 April 2012]

A lovely, interesting film, given more meaning by being the third of the three parts that more or less make up the history of Ingmar Bergman's family; starting with the sublime Fanny and Alexander, moving on to The Best Intentions, and then ending with Sunday's Children, which starts in the 1920s, but jumps forward and back to the late 1960s occasionally, where a character named Ingmar is confronting his dying father, from whom he's long felt estranged.

Most of the film focuses on the Ingmar character's childhood, in typical Bergman fashion, capturing the complexities of family life, good and bad, funny and heartbreaking. Also fascinating is that Ingmar Bergman chose his own son, Daniel, to direct this story of Ingmar Bergman's relationship with HIS father.

While there's clearly a certain poetry to that choice, I'm not sure it was the strongest possible one artistically. Unlike Billie August with 'The Best Intentions', Daniel Bergman sometimes seems to just be doing an imitation of his father's style, and that lack of an organic feeling to the film-making keeps this from fully soaring.

But the complexity of seeing the father/son relationship though both a child's eyes, when his father seems like a basically decent man with problems. and his adult perspective on the same behavior as cold and destructive is pretty fascinating.

A complex film I look forward to seeing again.

bergman's most personal work

[jeek · 10/10 · 18 November 2000]

i've always admired ingmar bergman because his upbringing mirrored my own. his films always captured my imagination because i always understood where he was coming from when it came to family, relationships, religion, etc. and "sunday's children" is one of the few films ever made that spoke to me personally.

although ingmar left the director's chair to his son daniel, ingmar's voice is heard throughout. the film shows little ingmar (named "pu" in this film, which in swedish means "little chap")in the midst of family conflict: a late night quarrel between his parents, dealing with older brother and sisters,, ghost stories from the maids, and dealing with his minister father. i experienced most of these occurrences in my own life. the scenes in the end where the happy childhood memories are juxtaposed with scenes of old-aged bitterness speak volumes to me.

the most powerful thing about this film is that it's all true, from bergman's heart.

bergman's my favorite film-maker, but it wasn't until i saw this film that i truly understood why. this is an undiscovered masterpiece. rent "fanny and alexander", "best intentions", and "sunday's children", and get the full story on ingmar bergman's life. i promise, you won't be disappointed!

Among the best of Bergman's later films

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 18 January 2013]

While Ingmar Bergman's son Daniel actually directed the film, Bergman himself was responsible for penning the script. The result is a beautifully crafted film on all levels that is among the best of Bergman's later films. Daniel Bergman directs very assuredly, so much so that at times it does feel that Ingmar Bergman directed it, which I liked. The autobiographical-toned script is very personal and written with such honesty and thought as well as a complex and even tone. Sunday's Children is also incredibly well made, the cinematography is stunning and the settings evocative. The use of sunlit country picnics and cycle rides also help to give a personal and nostalgic feel to the film, which I found quite poignant. In contrast, there are also the confrontations between Pu and his father that are incredibly dramatic and powerful. Thommy Berggren and Henrik Linnros give spot-on performances as those characters, who as always with Bergman are compelling in how realistically they are written. All in all, a remarkable film and while not among Bergman's very finest films it is one of his better later ones and is also his most personal. 10/10 Bethany Cox