Fanny and Alexander

Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander, 1982) is Ingmar Bergman's last great feature, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Running 188 minutes, this Swedish family saga unfolds through the eyes of two children in the theatrical Ekdahl clan at the turn of the twentieth century.

The young siblings grow up inside a warm, crowded household where the adults stage plays, throw a lavish Christmas, and forgive each other's many faults. Then their father dies without warning, their mother marries a severe bishop, and the golden world gives way to bare white rooms, fasting, and the cane. Fanny tries to keep her spirit intact while Alexander retreats into dark imaginings and open rebellion against his stepfather. Bergman drew heavily on his own childhood, and cinematographer Sven Nykvist floods every frame with light that turns from honey-gold to icy gray.

The film took four Academy Awards, among them Best Foreign Language Film, and is widely read as the summing-up of Bergman's entire career. If you have the patience for slow, immersive cinema about memory, fear, and the magic children still believe in, this is essential viewing. Stream Fanny and Alexander (1982) online on iFILM.