Sawdust and Tinsel (Gycklarnas afton) - dvd

Sawdust and Tinsel marks one of the defining moments of Ingmar Bergman's long and illustrious career-his move from standard studio pictures to the more esoteric explorations of the human condition for which he would become renowned. Albert and his mistress Anne lead the small and ramshackle Alberti travelling circus. After they are robbed on their way to Albert's home town, they find they must beg costumes from the town's permanent theatrical troupe, and are treated derisively by the players, including the clown Frans. When Albert decides to call on the wife and sons he deserted years earlier for show business, an enraged Anne visits Frans in retribution. Bergman uses the metaphor of the tawdry 19th century carnival to examine grostesqueness of human relations.