Brink of Life (1958) on Netflix
Cecilia Ellius arrives at a maternity ward bleeding in her third month, with her husband Anders. Hjördis Pettersson does not want her child. Stina Andersson, overdue, is eager for hers.
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- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb7.3/103,831 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes50%
Plot summary
Three women share a maternity ward in a Swedish hospital. Cecilia Ellius is admitted in her third month of pregnancy after she begins bleeding badly; her husband Anders comes with her, and before treatment she asks whether he truly wants the child. Hjördis Pettersson, unmarried and not engaged, has been bleeding as well and does not want a baby; she has not told her strict mother. Stina Andersson is past her due date and happy about the birth, certain the child will be a boy she means to name after her husband Harry, who visits. Nurse Brita and Dr. Nordlander work the ward, and the staff tell Hjördis that unmarried mothers in Sweden no longer face the old stigma and can get a house and daycare. She still has doubts.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Brink of Life (1958)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- At the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, Ingmar Bergman won the Best Director Award and the Best Actress Award was shared by four of the film's actresses: Andersson, Dahlbeck, Ornäs and Thulin.
- When Brink of Life reached Italy in 1960, the Committee for the Theatrical Review rated it VM16 and, to allow public screenings, ordered the removal of the scene in which Stina is in pain during labour, judging the film unsuitable to the sexual morals of a minor.
