The Magic Flute

Ingmar Bergman,Liv Ullmann

A production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" is presented, this film which blurs the lines of it as a stage production - not only with aspects of the theater stage shown, but also the occasional shot of the audience members watching it, and the performers going through their backstage routines during intermission - and a movie as the set moves out from the confines of the stage. The actual story concerns Tamino, a prince, falling in love with Pamina solely from seeing her photograph, Pamina's mother, the Queen of the Night, vowing that Pamina will be his if he rescues her from Sarastro, a demon who has captured her. On behalf of the Queen, three of her attendants, "ladies", who saved Tamino from a serpent, provide him with a magic flute to entice Pamina, and three child angels, who will act as his guides. The ladies also dispatch the pan-flute playing Papageno, a bird catcher who laments not being married himself, with Tamino, they providing him with magic bells as protection. Tamino will discover that not relayed to him by the Queen and her ladies is as it appears, he and Papageno who will have to go through a trial of enlightenment to reach their desired ends.—Huggo