I didn’t like it when I was younger, but now I really felt it, the hope of love and the melancholy.. the whole movie could be described with that one phrase that Anita says: “I have been an intermezzo in his life”… it explains everything, you could imagine it all without knowing anything else…
It struck me in this old movie how the two women were the strongest characters, compared to them Holger appears weak and volatile. The two women are both great, strong loving characters and I liked them both.
It’s the story of Holger Brandt (Leslie Howard), a famous violinist, always on tour playing all over the world. He has a family: his wife Margit (Edna Best) and his children Eric and little AnneMarie (Ann Todd). He comes home from a tour and tells Margit to go away together, she might follow him during his next tour, but of course it’s not that easy for the wives: she thinks of her children, the boy should leave school and the girl is still so young… Holger barely notices the young piano teacher of his daughter, Anita Hoffman (Ingrid Bergman) until he hears her playing at AnneMarie’s birthday party. He’s like enchanted, he goes to accompany her with his violin and it all starts there.
They meet on another occasion outside a concert that they both attended as spectators, and they go for a drink together.. he tells her to take Thomas (John Halliday) place (her piano teacher, and also the musicians that used to accompany Brandt with his piano on tour). She refuses, she says she applied for a scholarship in Paris… she also tells him how big a fan she’s always been. They drink champagne, they talk, they walk… and the camera turns away… did they kiss? Likely. Next thing we see, Anita wants to run away, go to Denmark; she says so to Thomas and to Mrs Brandt, but can’t leave without meeting him one last time. She tells him they are guilty because they are in love and that she’s trying to be sensible.. he says that love isn’t sensible but she says they must end it…
Margit tells Holger she wants to go on tour with him, that she’s changed her mind, but she can see his reaction is not what she had hoped for. She’s not dumb, she saw what was going on, she understood Anita’s reasons and now understands his silence. He insists on talking to her, but we don’t witness their conversation… we understand what went on though because after that he runs to the train station to stop Anita. He tells her that he told his wife everything and wants her to stay. She does. They go on tour together, Italy and France… AnneMarie listens to his concerts on the radio, waiting for the “intermezzo” piece, and Margit cries when she doesn’t see her…
Anita is very happy with Holger, they have a place in France and she loves him madly. Thomas writes to her that she’s been awarded the scholarship: “I hope you will not let anything interfere with the fulfillment of the great career now within your reach”, but now she doesn’t want it anymore because she wants Holger more than anything: “if I can only be with Holger nothing else matters”.
Holger misses his family very much (although they always talk about AnneMarie, never about the son: ok he’s older, but he’s still his son!! )
He has found a substitute in a little French girl, Marianne. Thomas goes visit them, presenting Holger with the divorce papers, but he still hesitate to sign them because he says it’s not easy to “cut out the best part of one’s life”…
Thomas tells Anita that they’re building their happiness on the unhappiness of others, and she understands what she has to do and says “we both know where Holger belongs” and “I have been an intermezzo in his life”; she does, but it’s very painful. She leaves while Holger is out with Marianne. She takes a train leaving him a note: “we have been pretending and hoping for too long Holger, pretending that what we had was splendid and good, hoping that we could make it so, but we know in our hearts that love like ours is wrong, that it drags itself down with remorse and fears, and the unhappiness of others. And so I am going away”. Talking to Thomas he says “you’re right, I must let her go, what can I do but spoil her life just as I’ve spoiled the lives of all those dear to me”. He has feelings for her, sure, but now he feels all alone, and here he said something that might be questionable, but was also worth of respect for once. He didn’t go back to his wife directly, he stayed alone saying to Thomas “I have no home, how can I go crawling back home just because I’m alone”… so he stays in France for a while, but days go by and he thinks of home, of his little girl waiting for him… until one day he buys a camera for her, the thing she wanted, planning to give it to her and then go away again. He doesn’t go home, he waits for her outside the school, but the little darling is so excited to see him that runs towards him, crossing the road without looking.. a car hits her, he takes her in his arms and takes her home. Poor Margit, can you imagine the emotions in her heart, to see her husband back and then to see her child in that condition…
Of course Holger can’t leave without knowing first what will be of AnneMarie, so he waits there alone. When Eric comes home, he’s naturally angry at him, saying things every angry teenager could say, like why did you come back, I don’t need you, go away, things like that. Holger says a nice thing “you don’t need me but I need you” and that’s enough for the boy, although it wouldn’t have been for me because words are easy..
The doctor comes to tell him that AnneMarie she’ll recover and be alright, and very relieved he now thinks about going away without saying goodbye; not because he wants to leave but probably because he doesn’t think he deserves to be there. When he’s at the door (he’s so slow, I think you can see how painful every step is), his wife appears on the stairs and calls his name, and says simply “welcome home”. Once to stop him, twice to make him come back in. The door closes, and it’s the end.
ITA intermezzo
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