This blog post delves deeply into the forbidden desires and inner fractures revealed by three sisters and their maid against the backdrop of the quiet mansion in the film Viskningar och rop, exploring how emotions hidden in silence eventually burst forth.
The film ‘Viskningar och rop’ unfolds around the daily lives of three sisters and their maid Anna within a grand mansion. The primary setting is solely this mansion; while no dramatic events occur, a slowly deepening sense of unease and tension permeates the atmosphere. The film quietly reveals the psychological torment and resulting inner conflicts the characters endure within what appears, at first glance, to be a monotonous routine.
The eldest sister, Agnes, lies bedridden, nearing death, while the other two sisters and the maid Anna tend to her. The second sister, Karin, is a strict disciplinarian who maintains a cold expression yet reveals an obsessive and unstable inner self. She expresses her suppressed emotions and rage against her controlled life through extreme acts of self-harm, cutting her genitals with glass shards. The youngest, Maria, appears outwardly naive but struggles internally with caring for Agnes. She openly acts on her desires by having an affair with the doctor who came to treat Anna’s daughter.
Watching this film, I felt that ‘homosexuality’ is treated as a significant theme. This element is particularly prominent in the relationship between Karin and Maria. The excessively intimate physical contact between the sisters, scenes where they caress each other’s faces and kiss, go beyond simple expressions of sisterly affection and carry sexual tension. In the latter part of the film, when Karin tells Maria, “You touched me,” it implies their relationship has crossed the line of simple sisterly affection into an uncomfortable, taboo territory.
Furthermore, the scene where Agnes, facing death, calls for Karin, Maria, and Anna one by one carries strong homosexual undertones. In this scene, the three characters meticulously close the door before entering Agnes’s room, creating a one-on-one space, heightening the tension flowing between each character and Agnes. Particularly, when Maria attempts to take Agnes’s hand and Agnes reacts as if to pounce on her, this action can be interpreted not merely as seeking comfort from her sister, but as an expression of repressed desire. Subsequently, the scene where Anna embraces Agnes and exposes her chest, while superficially appearing maternal, is a direction that makes it difficult to dismiss the underlying sexual tension.
The color ‘red,’ a significant symbol in the film, is also closely linked to these homosexual elements. The repeated use of red throughout the film reveals energy and sexual imagery, visually conveying that the characters are trapped by suppressed desires and taboos. This can be seen in a similar context to the use of red pomegranates as a sexual symbol in the film ‘Decision to Leave.’ The red that fills the grand mansion and the intense red screens appearing during scene transitions create unease and tension for the audience, hinting at the film’s hidden themes.
This film, dealing with death and suffering, reveals taboos through same-sex and incestuous sexual relationships, causing discomfort for viewers. While homosexuality and taboo may not be the film’s primary theme, they function as crucial subtext, keeping the audience perpetually tense. In particular, the film’s repeated use of red, the breath sounds of the maid Anna, Agnes’s screams, and close-ups emphasizing expressions provide the audience with intense sensory stimulation. Conversely, the frequent auditory gaps and the monotonous flow of events without major incidents further amplify this stimulation, drawing the audience deeply into the film.
Thus, the film leaves a strong impression on viewers through its elements of homosexuality and taboo, offering a unique cinematic experience that lingers long in the mind.
