A Lesson in Love (1954)

To me, this movie is perfection.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I suppose the right category for this movie would be romantic-comedy, but it's done so well by Ingmar Bergman and has so many nice touches, that it seems to be more than that. The premise is that after a gynecologist strays and has an affair with a young patient, his wife to go back to her old lover, and he wants her back.Eva Dahlbeck is great as the wife, and delivers empowering lines like "A woman wants to feel she's a woman – not a wife", and "A man can be immoral and he's only a 'he-man', but a woman who satisfies her instincts is a strumpet." Yvonne Lombard is very sexy as his mistress, and Andersson, who starred the previous year in the title role of 'Summer with Monika' as well as a bombshell in 'Sawdust and Tinsel', displays great range in playing his tomboy daughter who wants an operation to become a man so that she's not "dependent on a man". Gunnar Björnstrand is the gynecologist, and reminded me of Edward Norton, while Åke Grönberg plays their boisterous old friend who she goes back to.The story is cleverly told out of sequence in flashbacks, including Bergman taking his time in the middle of the movie to reveal to us that the woman he's met in a train car is actually his wife. The movie is light and has great dialogue, but at the same time has the touches characteristic of Bergman, and asks some deeper questions. Is 'the marital bed is the death of love', as the man says? Is to 'wallow in physical love to be like baboons', and do affairs burn out, eventually, into boredom? And lastly, as the teenage daughter talks to her grandfather in a nice scene, does God exist, and what does it mean to die? This movie has it all – a beautiful and talented cast, effortless direction, and a great script. Definitely recommended.

Ingmar Bergman has many several superb movies. A Lesson In Love is not one of his best, or one of my favourites shall I say, but I found it to be a fine and very overlooked film in many ways. It looks wonderful, the cinematography is especially good in the picnic scene and the scenery and images are all stunning to watch. The script is cynical, charming and funny at the same time, while the story is lighter in tone than most Bergman but is well balanced also with intelligently explored issues within the family especially the tension between David and Nix. The flashbacks are very carefully calculated, and there are some standout scenes, like at the picnic, on the train and with the granddad. Bergman as ever directs superbly. It is the performances that make A Lesson in Love the charmer it is, aside from the writing that is. The ever elegant Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Bjornstrand give superb performances that gives A Lesson in Love that extra sparkle. Fellow Bergman regular Harriet Anderssen is also impressive, though went onto even better things. Overall, a charming and funny film, definitely recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox

David and Marianne Erneman's marriage is going through a crisis, after 15 years.Gynecologist David is having an affair with a patient of his.She has gotten involved with her former lover Carl-Adam.On the train they meet again and do some reminiscing.A Lesson in Love (original title En Lektion I Kärlek) from 1954 is a film from Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.The cast is great.Eva Dahlbeck and Gunnar Björnstrand work great together as Marianne and David.Yvonne Lombard is wonderful as Susanne Verin.Harriet Andersson is terrific as Nix.Åke Grönberg does great job as Carl-Adam.Olof Winnerstrand plays Professor Henrik Erneman.Renée Björling is Svea Erneman.John Elfström is Sam.Birgitte Reimer portrays Lise.The movie has a lot of good.I liked the grandpa's birthday sequence.And when they look back at Marianne's and Carl-Adam's wedding is rather amusing.The dance sequence is quite funny.The temptress takes David to dance and then he prepares to kiss her lovely lips.This represents Bergman at not his best.But even Bergman at not his best is better than many other filmmakers could come up with.

Bergman is a sublime comedy director and writer. This fact becomes apparent in "En lektion I kärlek", where the comic elements range from pure slapstick to deep, yet very emotional scenes. This movie is paves the way for Bergman's later comedies "Sommarnattens leende" and "Kvinnodröm", all of them starring Gunnar Björnstrand as well as Eva Dahlbeck. This is an excellent movie with which to start your Bergman experience, acutely portraying emotional troubles of the young as well as the old. The cinematography by Martin Bodin is astounding, for instance in the picnic scene. In short, the movie is a perfect example of a successful comedy, with a clarity of depth even surpassing some of Bergman's own comedies.