Törst (1949)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writers:

Herbert Grevenius (writer)
Birgit Tengroth (novel)

Release Date:

11 July 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A great new Swedish hit by the maker of "Monika" and "Illicit Interlude"

Plot:

Several stories by Birgit Tengroth intertwine. In 1946, nervous ballet dancer Rut and her husband Bertil...

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Lesbian | Train | Abortion | Marriage

Cast

Eva Henning	...	Rut
Birger Malmsten	...	Bertil
Birgit Tengroth	...	Viola
Hasse Ekman	...	Dr. Rosengren
Mimi Nelson	...	Valborg
Bengt Eklund	...	Raoul
Gaby Stenberg	...	Astrid
Naima Wifstrand	...	Miss Henriksson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Verner Arpe	...	German ticket collector
Calle Flygare	...	Priest
Sven-Eric Gamble	...	Glass worker
Helge Hagerman	...	Priest
Else-Merete Heiberg	...	Norwegian lady
Estrid Hesse	...	Patient
Gunnar Nielsen	...	Assistant doctor
Sif Ruud	...	Widow
Monica Weinzierl	...	Girl on train
Inga-Lill Åhström	...	Piano player (uncredited)
Carl Andersson	...	Man on train (uncredited)
Wiktor Andersson	...	Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Ingmar Bergman	...	Train passenger (uncredited)
Britta Brunius	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Inga Gill	...	Lady at hotel (uncredited)
Herman Greid	...	Newspaper deliverer (uncredited)
Laila Jokimo	...	Ballet girl (uncredited)
Oscar Rosander	...	Man at hotel (uncredited)
Öllegård Wellton	...	Ballet girl (uncredited)
Peter Winner	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Ingmar Bergman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Herbert Grevenius		writer
Birgit Tengroth		novel

Produced by
Helge Hagerman	....	producer

Original Music by
Erik Nordgren

Cinematography by
Gunnar Fischer

Film Editing by
Oscar Rosander

Production Design by
Nils Svenwall

Sound Department
Gustav Halldin	....	sound
Lennart Unnerstad	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Huch	....	still photographer
Bengt Järnmark	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Eskil Eckert-Lundin	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Ellen Bergman	....	choreographer
Ingegerd Ericsson	....	script supervisor
Alva Lundin	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD) (English subtitles) (as Eclipse from the Criterion Collection)
• Emerald (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Helene Davis (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Janus Films (1959) (USA) (subtitled)
• Kino International (1988) (USA) (re-release) (subtitled)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Firma Carl M. Lundh AB  makeup

Also Known As:

Thirst (USA)
Three Strange Loves
La soif (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Dorst naar liefde (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Durst (West Germany) [de]
Jano (Finland) [fi]
La fontaine d'Aréthuse (France) [fr]
La sed (Argentina) [es]
Pathos kai idoni (Greece) [el]
Pragnienie (Poland) [pl]
Sede de Paixões (Brazil) [pt]
Sete (Italy) [it]
Tørst (Denmark) [da]
Tres amores extraños (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Well written and acted early Bergman

While Ode to Joy is undoubtedly the gem of Eclipse's Early Bergman box set, Thirst is a close second, at least in my mind. It's kind of a precursor to Scenes of a Marriage, where the story follows a married couple (played by Eva Henning and Birger Malmsten) on a train trip through war-torn Europe. The tumult of the film comes not from the mostly ignored outside world, but from the rocky marriage itself. We also get glimpses of the couple's former lovers. The film is at its best when sticking to the couple. When it strays to the stories of side characters, it's weaker. Since the film is so short (just over 80 minutes), you have to wonder if some of the tangential stories were added as padding. But even the scenes that don't add much are well written, acted and directed. Henning gives a masterful performance, and Bergman was really coming into his own by this point.