Bergman can deflate you faster than a ten penny nail in a cheap tire. This is the story of people who have made decisions that have consequences way beyond their control. A two bit circus makes its way to a small town. They have lost half of their property in order to survive. Many have not been paid and the chances of performing a marketable show are diminished considerably. The ringmaster and his very young concubine are incredibly dependent on one another, but the age difference is really a negating factor. The two go to a local theatrical group to borrow costumes so they can perform. The Director makes them grovel but agrees. Albert, the ringmaster, once lived in this town and left his rather drab wife with his two sons to set out on the road. He stops to see her and begs to be let back in but no soap. Meanwhile, Anne, his young mistress set out on her own to see an actor who has tried to seduce her earlier. What ensues is one of the blackest scenes in all of cinema. But like Mother Courage lifting the poles to pull her wagon, we see that the human spirit, even when dipped in the quagmire, somehow can resurface and hope to make it to the next stop.

The famous Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman started by making films with social messages. The Naked Night is one of them, but in it Bergman looks straightly into human's soul. His cruel vision of human nature took the shape of this wonderful piece of art. But The Naked Night didn't make the critics happy and it was also a financial flop. The cruel truth didn't please the audience.It's a story about a touring circus group, which all members are in different ways dependent on each other and in result of that prisoners of each other. They all want to leave the circus and start a better life. But the attempts to detach and break free lead only lead to bigger embarrassments. The world around the group keeps it apart, because they keep attacking to it even more ruthless.This situation between the world and the circus can be seen as an allegory for our world, this is where the social stand of the film stands. But it goes a lot deeper than that, researching the soul of man and the truth of human nature. It's a survey of the cruelty of man, but it's also a story about love and jealousy.The Naked Night is European modernism, which started in the 1940's-50's. The camera-work is the best example of this. It shows true humane emotions, sweat and tears on face, anger, shame and love. The movement of the camera is also very unusual for other films of that time. Ingmar Bergman's story about the cruel truth of human nature is a true classic from the European modernistic era.

Ingmar Bergman has left a reputation as one of the premier cynics of the cinema. A lifelong agnostic, he always held the belief that God did not exist and this life offers little, if any condolences to counter that feeling.After experimenting with various genres and trying to find his niche in the late 1940s, Bergman slowly began to establish himself as the finest Swedish film director ever known. This film, released in 1953, reminds me in many ways of the great Federico Fellini's 1954 film La Strada, also about a circus troupe and also focusing on the relationship between the aging circus leader and his female companion. Despite this common ground, the two great directors differ in that Fellini turns his attention to the joy and zest of performing and the difficulties that still lie within. With Bergman, troubles always abound and there is no shortage of sadness and sorrow. Indeed, none of these characters are truly happy in the way of the definition. Yet, they continuously search for some sort of satisfaction and happiness. Life is a long, sluggish journey that may never find its ultimate goal.Despite the downbeat tone, Bergman was a fantastic cameraman and his early films show him finding his footing, foreshadowing the great films he would make later in his career. Here, his collaboration with the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist has its beginnings as we see some fantastic angles, mirror shots and uses of depth of focus and framing. The acting is terrific, particularly by Harriet Andersson, and the script supports the story well. A small gem, but nevertheless a gem from the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.

This is not a bad film, though it certainly isn't exactly up to the standards of much of Ingmar Bergman's work. While I really liked the juxtaposition of the two plots (the mistress seeking out a new lover while her old lover was seeking a reconciliation with his wife), much of the story seemed rather muddled and uninteresting. It's hard to imagine a story about the circus being dull, but from time to time it sure felt that way. In fact, at one point one of the leads threatened to kill himself and I was actually hoping he would--just to give this movie a little more life. This isn't to say that I dislike Bergman's older films--several of them were quite magical--just not this one.While you may enjoy the film, there are certainly other Bergman films that are far more interesting, such as Wild Strawberries, The 7th Sign, Monika and Autumn Sonata, just to name a few.