The Magician

The Magician

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Produced by SF Studios

1958102 min7.3 / 10

A philosophically dense, ambiguous meditation on illusion, belief, and the nature of reality, where a magician's performance becomes a mirror for society's anxieties and desires.

A traveling magician and his troupe arrive in a Swedish town in the 1840s, where their act is scrutinized by local authorities and a skeptical medical official. Their stay leads to a series of confrontations that test the boundaries between performance, belief, and deception.

Questions people ask

  • Is The Magician scary? Yes, very. More frightening than 94% of films.

  • Is The Magician one of a kind? Yes, very. More singular than 90% of films.

  • Does The Magician end with hope? Barely. Less hopeful than 78% of films.

  • Is The Magician sad? Yes. More sad than 75% of films.

  • Is The Magician violent? Not especially. Less violent than 64% of films.

  • Is The Magician easy watching? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.

These describe how the film comes across, measured across the whole film and compared with other well-known films. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked scene by scene, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.

Written about

79/ 100

Cinnamon Score

How much this film gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.

Distinctly its own thing.

Rarity91

How unlike any other film this one feels

Surprise68

How much more it delivers than it promises

Love80

How much audiences actually like it

The highest scores in the catalogue →

Ensemble

Everything like The Magician, and what each one shares →

Like The Magician

Nearest across the full emotional profile.

Same Mood as The Magician

Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.

Like The Magician, But Darker

Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.

Like The Magician, But Lighter

Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.

Like The Magician, But Less Popular

Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.

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