This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
feels_for_reels’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
A carnival comes to town and docks on the property of a Mr. Magnus von Brede, without permission. When he arrives to investigate, he is struck by how much the carousel operator resembles the men in his family. He arranges a meeting with this fellow, whereupon he learns that he is the bastard son of a vaudeville performer, the result of a one night stand with a wealthy man who left $300 on the nightstand and walked out the door. Of course this wealthy man ends up being none other than Magnus von Brede; the carousel operator is his son.
von Brede welcomes his son as an heir to his vast fortune. The story then becomes one about a man straddling two worlds, trying to figure out where he belongs. Where this really plays out is in the love triangle our hero finds himself in. When he was a lowly carousel operator and lived in a wagon, he had a warm and affectionate sweetheart who he had considered marrying. But now his father wants him to marry his own ward, the beautiful and frigid Eva.
I’m pretty sure the synopsis (either here or on the Criterion channel) gives away the ending. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was still fascinating watching the story unfold. Bergman is excellent as Eva, although I was a little torn by what I felt may have been a subtle anti-feminist message. At one point Moreaux (our protagonist) says about her, “I never knew a girl’s head could contain so much cultural history.” (Eliciting eyerolls and a quick clenching of the teeth from me, but ok 1939) Later on, he asks Eva if she has any dreams. “I dream of power,” she replies. “Never of a husband or children?” “No.” (How is this supposed to make us feel about her? How did it make audiences feel in 1939?) And of course, at the very end of the film, Eva appears full of regret for driving her fiancé away (after he made the moves on her in a fit of passion). So all of this - the part about her filling her head with books and “culture” (supposedly getting ready to get her PhD), and not prioritizing marriage and family (and ending up without the man in the end) - reminded me of the sexist advice women have been getting for ages, about putting academics and career on hold (forever?) in order to focus on finding a good husband, lest you end up alone. (But of course, the real reason she ends up alone is because she is frightened and disgusted by the idea of sex, so maybe I am really reaching here with this connection.)
Any way, good little fable about staying true to oneself.