The Master Builder

This version of Ibsen's demanding play makes few concessions to the cinematic form, being filmed in a few rooms and consisting almost entirely of scenes with taut dialogue between two or three people. Many people would find it too lacking in action, but for anyone prepared to engage with the dialogue and the characters, it is compelling. Each character – the egomaniacal architect, the largely discarded wife, the other people who are there to serve his aims, and disruptively, the young woman who has come to fulfil the dream he gave her and finds the Master Builder wanting, works perfectly in performances from a very capable cast. There is a level of hysteria underlying the whole story, producing a belief that one can do anything if show more only enough willpower is applied. But so often, it cannot. show less

This play is from the end of Ibsen's career and there is a clear difference in style and content from the earlier plays. I have appreciated his wit and social commentary but that was lacking in this play. Instead, there is a possibly mad builder and his relationship with God... If that sounds interesting, you will probably like this.

I also listened to the Librivox recording as I read this and would like to mention the wonderful production. Very well done.

Wikipedia: The Master Builder was the first work Ibsen wrote upon after his return to Norway from Europe in July 1891. It is generally grouped with the three other works written during this late period of Ibsen's life - Little Eyolf, John Gabriel Borkman, and When We Dead Awaken - as "symbolic plays" which lack the thematic clarity of such earlier works as Hedda Gabler. Early reactions to the play by Ibsen's critics were mixed, probably due its heightened symbolism, much of which is unclear. Hilde, for example, seems to alternate roles between an inspiring force, urging Solness to temper his rampant ambition and pursue real happiness, and a temptress, pushing Solness to commitments he cannot possibly make. English critic William Archer, show more however, has suggested that the play is not as completely symbolic as some have maintained, interpreting it instead as "a history of a sickly conscience, worked out in terms of pure psychology." He notes that in this regard the play is similar to earlier Ibsen works which deal mainly with a retrospective look at a character's psyche. show less

"Review soon."

Bokklubbens anmeldelse:

Solness frykter ungdommen, men er besatt av unge Hilde Wangel. Hun utfordrer ham til å klatre opp og feste kransen på tårnet på huset han har bygget for å redde sitt ekteskap. I overmot trosser han høydeskrekken og klatrer opp, og faller ned. Dette er et drama om kunsten og livet, om alderdommens møte med ungdommen og drømmen om det umulige. I hovedrollene: Jan Grønli, Heidi Goldmann og Anne Marit Jacobsen