The whole thing, has been written and directed by Ingmar Bergman in a style so gloomily arty as to be indigestible.

Pain and degradation follow, inevitably before the eyes of a derisive crowd.

Vsually it is a treat, with Bergman's richly baroque compositions and persistent use of deep focus brilliantly exploiting the circus and theatre settings. And the performances are first-rate.

An often painful -- if historically significant -- watch.