SILVER

[MUSIK I MÖRKER] a.k.a. NIGHT IS MY FUTURE
Following her successful international debut in Basil Dearden's FRIEDA, Mai Zetterling returned to Sweden to collaborate for a second time with Ingmar Bergman, who had penned her breakout acting role in TORMENT. Bergman's fourth feature as director became his first popular success, a moody melodrama adapted by writer Dagmar Edqvist from her own bestselling novel. Bergman regular Birger Malmsten plays Bengt, a young pianist blinded during military service, who falls for Ingrid (Mai Zetterling), the young servant hired to care for him. Their burgeoning romance is stifled by class differences, and the pair go their separate ways, only to meet by chance years later. An often-overlooked early gem in Bergman’s filmography, MUSIC IN THE DARK showcases powerful Expressionist visuals and a surreal dream sequence as Bengt undergoes surgery, hinting at the filmmaker’s future style. As with many of his films from this period, Bergman’s appreciation of film noir is evident, and he even adopted the signature Alfred Hitchcock touch of a cameo appearance — watch for a young Bergman playing a passenger on the train at the film’s conclusion! DIR Ingmar Bergman; SCR Dagmar Edqvist, from her novel; PROD Lorens Marmstedt. Sweden, 1948, b&w, 87 min. In Swedish with English subtitles. NOT RATED

DCP restoration courtesy of the Swedish Film Institute.