Film Review: The Serpent's Egg (1977)

If you read enough articles or watch enough debates about financial stimuluses, Green New Deal and Modern Monetary Theory, you are certain to encounter word “Weimar”. That city became synonymous with the first and tragically failed attempt to build modern progressive democracy in Germany, as well as economic woes that played crucial role in its demise. This historical period later became popular among film makers, which included legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman whose 1977 period thriller The Serpent’s Egg represents the most unusual piece of his filmography.

The plot is set in Berlin during early November 1923, a time when many expected fledgling Weimar Republic to succumb to rampant hyperinflation that made money worthless, people unemployed and hungry, as well as willing to listen to all kinds of extremists, including certain little-known Austrian painter that was making ambitious plans in Munich beer hall. All that is of little concern to Abel Rosenberg (played by David Carradine), American Jewish acrobat who had arrived to Berlin to perform in circus with his brother and his ex-wife Manuela (played by Liv Ullman). Abel, whose life revolves around alcohol and women with loose morals, finds that his brother committed suicide and takes residence with Manuela, now working as cabaret performer and part-time prostitute. He also becomes person of interest for Bauer (played by Gert Fröbe), police inspector investigating bizarre deaths, which are, in one way or another, connected to Abel. Some of Abel and Manuela’s existential problems are temporarily solved by Hans Vergerus (played by Heinz Bennent), eccentric scientist and childhood acquaintance who gives them jobs in his clinic.

Bergman was enjoying reputation of the king of arthouse cinema, and as such, anti-thesis of everything Hollywood. It took some very special reasons for him to make what turned out to be his first and the only Hollywood film. Although being considered as something like national treasure, Bergman by 1976 got bored of financing welfare state of his native Sweden through taxes and went to seek greener pastures elsewhere, ending in West Germany where he got in touch with famous producer Dino de Laurentiis. He was provided with high budget and elaborate studio sets, something he hadn’t been accustomed to much of his career. This brave experiment, however, ended very poorly, being rejected by not only audience but also by usually Bergman-worshipping critics.

The main reason why The Serpent’s Egg failed is lack of focus and the apparent indecision of Bergman what his film should actually be. In terms of genre it meanders between psychological drama, serious exploration of rising anti-Semitism that would find final expression in Holocaust, some sort of allegory at bleak politics of Europe during Years of Lead and, finally, pure thriller with some bits of science fiction and horror thrown to good measure. This indecision reflects in extremely slow pacing and Bergman filling time with unnecessary, sometimes grotesque and often disturbing scenes (like the one featuring horse on a Berlin street) that makes The Serpent’s Egg mostly unpleasant viewing experience. Things are even worse with terrible miscasting of Carradine who not only lacks any kind of chemistry with Ullman, but also looks as confused in front of camera just like the (mostly unsympathetic) character he plays. Ullman, to her credit, tries to do something, but even her rich experience with Bergman can’t help with her character being poorly scripted. Her musical number, for example, does nothing but to remind audience of Visconti’s The Damned and Fosse’s Cabaret, two much better films that dealt with the similar themes. The only times when The Serpent’s Egg actually works is at very beginning, when we are introduced to gruesome but very effective scene in which Abel discovers his brother’s body, and the end, when, even with “pulpish” revelation of evil genius as the main villain, this film features something resembling coherent plot, theme and even an inventive death scene. But, by when that happens, it is too late for the audience to have sufficient patience or understanding for this massive failure.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

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