Would Bergman think of this as a “hangout movie”? It’s always a pleasure to revisit Petra, Desiree, Egerman and his conflicted son and young wife. Smiles owes much to Mozart (Le Nozze di Figaro) and more immediately to Renoir’s Rules of the Game, but it’s also more intimate and serious in tone than either of those works.
Scenes of a Summer Night is a beautiful film about beautiful people finding ways to make real connections - despite the manufactured constraints of society and family.
Profoundly enjoyable.