The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute

1975. Sweden. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. With Ulrich Cold, Josef Kostlinger, Hakon Hagegard, Birgit Nordin. Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. After 30 years, Bergman finally loosens up with this charming adaptation of Mozart’s opera. Following hard on the heels of his Cries and Whispers and Scenes from a Marriage, The Magic Flute seems like an acknowledgment that audiences might be enthralled by something other than his personal life and obsessions. Except possibly for Joseph Losey’s Don Giovanni (1979), this is probably the best film opera ever made. In Swedish; English subtitles. 134 min.