If death can be a happy ending, this has
a big one. This is a Norwegian production but with two big American stars
as well as a German, Swedish and yes even a Norwegian one. All of them fairly
old when this film was made. What begins as a simple premise - saying
good-bye to a friend of many years - gets more and more complicated as well
as more and more absurd and by the end sinks into a pool of pathos. Still,
it is nice seeing all these well-known actors working together. Robert
Mitchum is perhaps the biggest name - at least in America - and it turned
out to be his last feature film. Though he looks like he could play John
Bunyan, he was to be dead two years later. The film is all about meeting
death with civility and respect and with your friends around you bidding
farewell with champagne. Not a bad way to go.
It begins with three friends spreading the
ashes of a fourth friend on a lake. The four of them had been friends since
they studied medicine in Heidelberg before the war. Bogan (Mitchum) is from
America, Roth (Cliff Robertson) also from America, August (Erland Josephson
- in many of Bergman's films) from Sweden and the dead man Carl (Espen Skjønberg
- a very respected Norwegian actor). Thus, it isn't really a spoiler saying
that he dies. The film then flashes back a few weeks to get to this point.
It is rather silly really but sweet. Carl has a heart attack and is in the
hospital when his three friends kidnap him and take him to Heidelberg to
die.
They make the mistake of asking for any
last wishes. Yes. Just one. I would like the woman I loved 60 years ago to
sing "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's opera as the sun sets on Heidelberg.
What could be simpler. Truly, one of the most perfect songs ever. It always
brings me nearly to tears and I have no idea what it means. Well, sure why
don't we track down this woman and politely ask her. She should only be about
80 years old. Couldn't you just ask for a stripper? It gets very complicated
as they scurry around from graveyards to newspaper offices tracking her down
- and are clearly in a hurry because he looks like he could pop off at any
moment. But it gets even murkier as they run into old history and the Nazis.
The German star is the wonderful Hanna Schygulla who plays the daughter of
his old love. I am only surprised that the English title wasn't Grumpiest
Old Men.
