Year: 1921
Accolades: One of 1001 Films You Must See before You Die
Review on Letterboxd: 'The Phantom Carriage' Review by Avalanche
This silent Swedish film cemented its place in many film-maker's heads as an influence on their work, in particular Ingmar Bergman. The film certainly has nuances that would not be out of place in a Bergman film and so it's not hard to see how he was inspired.
The atmosphere that this film creates is spot on. There is a constant sense of unease – whether it be from the unknown or unseen, to the simple fact that the protagonist of the film appears to be completely helpless against the fate that is about to befall him. Having apparently died on the stroke of midnight after a scuffle with two of his friends, he must now apparently spend the year reaping souls.
The man currently acting as the reaper, a former friend of his, explains just how it is that this man ended up in this position. A series of flashbacks depicts this mans descent into drunken bad behaviour that means he must be punished with the job of reaping. I will admit, the use of the flashbacks was a little confusing at times, since it wasn't always immediately obvious who was who. The woman on her deathbed in the present, for example, is not immediately identifiable as one of the Salvation Army members in the flashbacks until later.
This did make me question the point of all these flashbacks at first, until I realised they were always the same character, just looking a bit different in the past. Once I got past that, the film settled into an enjoyably creepy ghost story, although the ending nowadays might seem rather cliched.
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