What happened to Johan?
Personally I think he took ill and died but didn't want Marianne to know. Any other theories?
shareI suspected that as well. I thought his final scene, where to refers to the "hour of the wolf" (the hour at which the elderly die and babies are born), I saw a foreshadowing of his death.
Regardless, Johan did not look well in this film, and they really played up the age difference between him and Marianne here. I was surprised at how old and frail Erland Josephson appeared. I assume this was the result of makeup. Did you notice that he was trembling most of the time?
Josephson had developed Parkinson's Disease by this time, hence the trembling - it didn't affect his speech or his acting, but I think Bergman took care to draw attention away from Josephson's hands, or at least to minimize them, either by having someone hold them, or by not including them in the shot.
"Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke."
Thank you for the explanation. I didn't realize Mr. Josephson had Parkinson's disease. I hope he is doing well under the circumstances. The trembling is barely noticeable here, but I have an eye for such details.
shareMost common theory is that Marianne is being shielded from the truth, whether he died or just fell seriously ill is another matter. She was fine without him before and will be ok now, especially since she finally found the courage to see her daughter and the sanitarium.
shareVery true. I think he needed her a lot more than she needed him, though he would never admit it.
share