Trollflöjtan

I watched a couple of movies recently that were based on musical theater and where the movies were staged in such a way as to be deliberately stage-bound. One worked better than the other, with the one that worked for me being Ingmar Bergman's production of the Mozart opera The Magic Flute. (The production was originally for Swedish TV, but got a theatrical release outside of Sweden.)

The Magic Flute tells the story of two couples. One is a high-class couple where we're introduced to the man, Prince Tamino, first, as he's walking through a forest and accosted by what looks like a dragon but according to the synopsis of the opera was originally a serpent. Three maidens who are ladies-in-waiting to the Queen of the Night come and save Tamino, whom they all find incredibly handsome. He's knocked unconscious in the assault and discovered by Pagageno, a fowler who lies about having saved Tamino. For this the maidens punish Papageno and give Tamino a locket with a portrait of the gorgeous Pamina, who happens to be the daughter of the Queen of the Night.

However, Pamina has been kidnapped by the evel Sarastro, leading both Tamino and Papageno to go looking for her because by this time the two of them have become friends. Papageno finds Pamina and finds out that it's not so much Sarastro who is the bad guy but Monostatos, who is more or less the overseer of Sarastro's slaves. Papageno rescues Pamina just as Tamino enters the castle, so it seems as if the two are going to miss each other. But thanks to their flutes they're ablt to find each other.

They don't get to live happily ever after, at least not yet, since we're maybe halfway through the film. Sarastro decides that they should be wed, but only under the condition that they're both pure of heart. To that end, both of them are going to have to go through a series of purity trials, although this second act focuses more on Tamino's trials. Tamino being the equivalent of the noble knights from medieval stories, he immediately takes up the offer with no thought to how difficult or dangerous it might be. Papageno, meanwhile, has also been promised the sort of woman who's perfect for him, except that he too is going to have to go through the purity rituals. He's rather more timid but also decides to go through with it. Papageno is also the comic relief character, so he's going to have a bit more trouble with the rituals. But The Magic Flute is not a tragic opera, so it's going to have a happy ending.

Ingmar Bergman had apparently seen a performance of The Magic Flute at Drottningholm, a Stockholm palace that had a vintage 18th century theater, when he was young, and always wanted to direct a performance of it himself. Unfortunately, Drottningholm itself wasn't up for the rigors of movie production with the heavy cameras and bright lights necessary, so Bergman had to build a replica. His intent was to make The Magic Flute look like it's a stage production, but with the freedom of the camera being able to record from different angles as well as closeups. Think the Olivier version of Henry V as opposed to the Kenneth Branagh version; the set pieces are clearly props as opposed to filming outdoor scenes outside. It's a decision that mostly works, although I could have done without cuts to "audience" members. The color palette is interesting as well in that it's very heavily focused on greens and reds.

I think that if you like opera, you'll enjoy this adaptation of The Magic Flute.