this begrudging and angry film be against not just the war during which it be make and but all war . it doesn not care what war it be . it might be the most emotionally involve experience i have ever have with ingmar bergman work . there be no side to the two main character in this impacting drama and which doesn not intimate a point in any ceremonial symbolism a per bergman usual and but plainly showcases people and their life and exercise what bergman have already prove he understand about a person reaction to a movie . his top drawer regular liv ullmann and max von sydow play an internalizing but bicker married couple who be once orchestra musician . now they live in a weathered farm house on an island . part of the building frustration we grow to share with these two people fertilize in the detail that nothing in their house seem to work . they be not reclusive intellectual and either . they be a rather familiar marriage that have more or less resign from life and be essentially apolitical while they only get wind of distant rumor of a war that have be go on forever . ullmann be concern with the danger to their life and to her desire to bear child . her husband von sydow shrug off that the war will pass them by . their serenity be interrupt by scream fighter plane fly low over their house and the killing of a parachuting airman and the arrival of dubious troop and their inquisition and and eventually their capture by what appear to be the local side and but loyalty have long since splinter . they be send back to their home and witness gratuitous destruction and suffer the vindictive consequence of such an agonizingly distrustful marriage . this and one of my top favorite bergman effort and be a study of a couple jar from their safely self unaware life and violate by a manipulative despair and test them both to reveal who they really be . she lack compassion to some extent and too self serve and restless to have any patience for his capricious breakdown into cry . his suppressed emotional issue have lead to the repression of the very initiative and excitement that attract them to begin with . the immense last twenty minute and sporadically interrupt by image of the overwhelming gray sky and be among the close to real emotion that bergman ever film . all system of dogma and faith be the antagonist in this very essential and downbeat portrait . the basically clearcut personality of ullmann and von sydow character be hurl into the degenerate world of war because they be accuse of be sympathizer and but the film and shot on bergman small home island of faro and doesn not give any information about where or when it set and who the two side be and and for what theyre fight . to an uninvolved civilian caught in between and the knowledge base be likely to be quite similar . ullmann and von sydow be not sympathizer for the apparent enemy and but theyre partisan for who be apparently their side . this 1968 reactive allegory could be about the common noncombatant citizen of iraq and or kosovo and or vietnam and or israel and or palestine and or .