Key memories include witnessing his mother give birth to a stillborn child during a party and his own burgeoning, confused sexual obsession with her.
Former child star Shirley Temple famously resigned from the San Francisco Film Festival in protest of the film, labeling it "pornography for profit".
Watch this excerpt to see the atmospheric and decadent style of the film's childhood flashbacks: Excerpt from "Night Games (1966)" Allusion to Shadow YouTube• Jan 17, 2023
It was considered so scandalous that it had to be screened privately for the jury.
The 1966 Swedish film Night Games (original title: Nattlek ), directed by , is a psychodrama centered on Jan, an emotionally stunted man who returns to his childhood estate with his fiancée to confront his repressed past. Plot Summary
At the time of its release, Night Games was highly controversial:
Jan was raised in an aristocratic castle by his hedonistic mother, Irene (played by Ingrid Thulin ), who subjected him to an environment of sexual perversity, orgies, and emotional neglect.
While some critics like Pauline Kael were dismissive, others noted its deep exploration of Freudian notions like Oedipal desire and childhood trauma.
Key memories include witnessing his mother give birth to a stillborn child during a party and his own burgeoning, confused sexual obsession with her.
Former child star Shirley Temple famously resigned from the San Francisco Film Festival in protest of the film, labeling it "pornography for profit".
Watch this excerpt to see the atmospheric and decadent style of the film's childhood flashbacks: Excerpt from "Night Games (1966)" Allusion to Shadow YouTube• Jan 17, 2023
It was considered so scandalous that it had to be screened privately for the jury.
The 1966 Swedish film Night Games (original title: Nattlek ), directed by , is a psychodrama centered on Jan, an emotionally stunted man who returns to his childhood estate with his fiancée to confront his repressed past. Plot Summary
At the time of its release, Night Games was highly controversial:
Jan was raised in an aristocratic castle by his hedonistic mother, Irene (played by Ingrid Thulin ), who subjected him to an environment of sexual perversity, orgies, and emotional neglect.
While some critics like Pauline Kael were dismissive, others noted its deep exploration of Freudian notions like Oedipal desire and childhood trauma.