Part of DIRECTED BY MAI ZETTERLING, four new restorations by the Swedish actor and director, famed for her collaborations with Ingmar Bergman, Nicolas Roeg, and Ken Loach. Co-presented with the National Nordic Museum.
Featuring content that sparked controversy on the festival circuit, Night Games continues the daring exploration into sexual confusion that Mai Zetterling initiated in Loving Couples. The director’s sophomore feature centers on Jan (Keve Hjelm), a young man who introduces his fiancée (Lena Brundin) to his family’s estate. The now empty manor triggers remembrances of childhood traumas—as depicted in fuguelike flashbacks—that force Jan to recognize an incestuous attachment between him and his overaffectionate mother (Ingrid Thulin) and its corruption of his romantic relationships. Masterfully using architectural space to plumb the depths of the psyche, Zetterling suffuses Jan’s inner journey with atmospherics and symbolism as he confronts the demons of his past.