Torment (1944)
"Hets" (original title)

An idealistic adolescent, suffering under the thumb of a sadistic schoolmaster, falls in love with a loose girl who is bullied and tormented by another lover.

Director:

Alf Sjöberg

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Stig Järrel, Alf Kjellin, Mai Zetterling

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stig Järrel	...	Caligula
Alf Kjellin	...	Jan-Erik Widgren
Mai Zetterling	...	Bertha Olsson
Olof Winnerstrand	...	The Headmaster
Gösta Cederlund	...	Pippi
Hugo Björne	...	Doctor Nilsson
Olav Riégo	...	Mr. Widgren
Märta Arbin	...	Mrs. Widgren
Jan Molander	...	Pettersson
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hilda Borgström	...	Caligula's Mother (scenes deleted)
Gunnar Carlsson	...	Student (as Lars-Gunnar Carlsson)
Anna Olin	...	Aunt Elisabeth (scenes deleted)

Storyline

Jan-Erik Widgren is a high-school senior. His Latin teacher, Caligula, is feared by everybody, both teachers and students. Widgren falls in love with Berta, who works in a tobacco store. She tells him that she is harassed by a mean, sadistic man, but does not tell him that it is Caligula himself.

---

Plot Keywords:

lover | latin | school | schoolmaster | schoolboy | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

2 October 1944 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Torment

Filming Locations:

Norra Latin High School, Norrmalm, Stockholm, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Latin teacher Caligula is based on the Latin teacher Sjögren in Lågor i dunklet also played by Stig Järrel.

---

Goofs

When Caligula and Widgren sit in the window together towards the middle of the film, the boom mic can be seen reflected in the glass above them.

---

Quotes

Caligula: Mr.Widgren is lazy, he ignores me and my homeworks.

---

Connections

Featured in Bergman Island (2004)

User Reviews

Halfway attempt at a thriller enhanced with gorgeous black-and-white photography

In contrast with his best friend at school, who cites Strindberg's and Nietzsche's cynical views on women, Jan-Erik Widgren considers himself an idealist, who believes there's a chaste woman out there for him. But the adolescent schoolboy's first love proves to be a loose girl he finds stumbling around drunk one night. They become lovers, even though she has another man in her life - a man she says bullies and torments her. Meanwhile, Jan-Erik is poised to fail at school, thanks to a sadistic schoolmaster - a browbeating teacher of Latin whom all the boys refer to as Caligula.

The title sequence promises a thriller, and there are sequences that seem prepared to fulfill that promise; but it never quite pans out. The story never quite pans out as satisfactory drama either, despite some acute observations by the wiser characters and good performances from everyone. Ingmar Bergman's script comes off like gleeful revenge against an actual schoolmaster he knew.

The best thing about the movie is the gorgeous black-and-white photography from Martin Bodin, under Alf Sjöberg's direction, filled with sinister shadows of domineering figures and clutching hands and low angle shots revealing shadow-strewn ceilings.