The Grand Illusion

Zetterling’s directorial career came full circle with her final feature: whereas her first, Loving Couples, was adapted from a novel cycle by Agnes von Krusenstjerna, Amorosa offers a study of the author’s controversial life. As portrayed by Stina Ekblad in a bravura performance, Krusenstjerna establishes a place in literature at odds with the conventions of the early twentieth century, when depictions of female sexuality were taboo. Earning plaudits and censure, Krusenstjerna’s work scandalizes a Swedish society adapting to new ideas about freedom of expression and women’s rights. Meanwhile, the writer alienates her aristocratic family and descends into mental illness under the dubious care of her husband and literary executor, David Sprengel (Erland Josephson).

Part of Directed by Mai Zetterling, four new restorations by the Swedish actor and director, famed for her collaborations with Ingmar Bergman, Nicolas Roeg, and Ken Loach. Co-presented with the National Nordic Museum.