Shame (1968)

 Ingmar Bergman's "Shame"


The fantastic revelation about Ingmar Bergman's 1968 film "Shame" is that the narrative war taking place in the film is unspecified and uncontextualized. This narrative feature allows the viewer to submit themselves to the horrors foisted upon the protagonists completely. Does this war take place in the past? In the future? The beauty is that this lack of specification makes "Shame" feel so much more dystopian. It feels like you're watching a glimpse into your own apocalyptic future.

The film centers on Jan and Eva, two former violinists who now live on a rural farm. When civil war breaks out across the country, the apolitical couple are thrown into chaos and authoritarianism. The film observes how war and invasion affects their marriage and how they are as human beings, shaping them into far different versions of themselves by the film's conclusion.

Bergman begins the film in a state of martial bliss. The couple are happy, smiling, and joyous in their domestic normalcy. As we see the disturbing and brutal reality of war unfold before them, we slowly witness the disintegration of their marriage. We also witness the hollowing-out of their souls. 

I feel as though that, because this is the primary function of the film, there isn't much complexity to dode on. Rather, the simplicity of the film, along with its execution, make these themes even more intricately felt. Its far more visceral.

With the Vietnam war taking place in 1968, along with the threat of nuclear war due to the Cold War, holocaust and wartime devastation was an apt subject matter to dive in to for Bergman. The possibility of dealing with war from the perspective of people living normal, domestic lives coincided with the political paranoia and fear taking place in contemporary society. "Shame" was thereby a stark warning of possible horrors to come.

As someone who is living in contemporary times as I'm writing this in 2025, these fears and fallout and war and just as palpably felt. This is what makes "Shame" transcend time. It's a film that could depict the horrors of World War II just as much as it depicts the events to come in World War III.



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