Film Forum

Sweden, 1968
Directed by Zetterling
Screenplay by Zetterling, David Hughes
Starring Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Björnstrand, Erland Josephson
New DCP restoration courtesy Swedish Film Institute and Janus Films.
Approx. 100 min.

Life, art, and fantasy intermingle as actresses Liz (Bibi Andersson), Marianne (Harriet Andersson) and Gunilla (Gunnel Lindblom) perform in a touring production of Lysistrata with Aristophane’s “battle of the sexes” extending into their personal lives, in Zetterling’s sendup of gender relations in contemporary Sweden.

Reviews

“Zetterling’s militantly sardonic humor, simultaneously leery of women’s acceptance of their oppression and hopeful of their potential for change, provides an awareness of the film’s frequent ludicrousness that both lightens and sharpens her critique.”
– Slant

“Through a moment in the lives of three women, we sense what it means to be a woman. What a verbal account can only poorly show is the art with which Mai Zetterling tells her story. All the images have multiple dimensions, the theatrical scenes reflect real life, and this touches on the dreams which brings us back to reality. Ironic and comic, this film moves us by the beauty of its landscapes, its poetry and above all the subtle tenderness with which we are shown the feminine faces. It is a great success and I hope that many will see it – men and women – to discover its seductions.”
– Simone de Beauvoir, Le Monde