Sawdust and Tinsel

Sawdust and Tinsel is a 1953 Swedish drama film directed by Ingmar Bergman. Plot In Sawdust and Tinsel, Bergman depicts the battle between sexes as a grotesque carnival of humiliation. Set in the turn of the twentieth-century Sweden, the story begins in the outdoor area of the circus, where the clown Frost (Anders Ek) is informed that a beautiful lady is bathing nude in the sea near the coast where the circus is set. He later finds out that the lady is his wife and he tries to cover her up by blocking her body with his. We are then introduced to the circus owner and ringmaster Albert Johansson (Åke Grönberg) and his young mistress, Anne (Harriet Andersson) who is the horseback rider of the circus. In the main circus tent, they talk about their financial situation and the fate of the circus. Albert and Anne are having problems, as it appears that Albert has gotten tired of the circus and Anne, and wants to go back to his wife and child whom he left three years ago. Out of desperation, Albert and Anne try to preserve the circus by meeting a theatre director, Mr. Sjuberg (Gunnar Björnstrand), and begging him for assistance. Mr. Sjuberg insults Albert and his wife's appearances which he believed looked ridiculous and overdressed, but he lets them borrow some clothes. When asked for the payment, Mr. Sjuberg says that it would be paid by seeing one of their performances. In the theatre, Anne meets Frans (Hasse Ekman) who lusts for her, and constantly flirts with her, but Anne rejects him.