To Joy / Till gladje

One of Ingmar Bergman’s key early works – directed when he was just 30 years old - To Joy explores some of the themes that would come to characterize many of his later films: the incompatibility of spouses and the responsibility of artists. Marta (Maj-Britt Nilsson) and Stig (Stig Olin) both play in an orchestra conducted by Sonderby (played by the legendary Swedish actor and director Victor Sjostrom – Wild Strawberries). Their relationship is a happy one and they soon decide to get married and have children. However, things begin to turn sour when Stig begins a sordid affair that threatens to destroy their marriage and their happiness forever. Moving and evocative, To Joy sees the young Bergman grappling with the complexities of human relationships to striking effect, and is an early indication of what the budding director would soon be capable of.