Synopsis
Filmed in Germany, during
Bergman's tax-related exile with a predominantly German cast and crew,
From the Life of the Marionettes continues the story of Katarina and Peter Egermann, the feuding, childless, professional couple who appear in
Scenes from a Marriage. This is an unusually raw and explicit drama in which all the scenes are shot in black and white except the opening sequence and the epilogue.
Peter Egermann (
Robert Atzorn), outwardly stable and well adjusted, suffers from depression, feelings of sexual inadequacy, and barely suppressed rage toward his wife, Katarina (
Christine Buchegger). This eventually leads to the brutal rape and murder of a prostitute, known only as Ka, a nickname for Katarina. An intense and experimental film, whose complex structure allows us to explore the mind of a man driven to extremes,
From the Life of the Marionettes is one of
Bergman's most daring works.