Flickan från tredje raden (The Girl from the Third Row). 1949. Sweden. Written and directed by Hasse Ekman. In Swedish; English subtitles. 85 min.
With Eva Henning, Ekman, Sven Lindberg. Conceived as a direct response to the nihilism of Ingmar Bergman’s Prison, this intricately constructed fable follows the course of an imitation diamond ring as it changes hands, transforming the lives of all who possess it—including a pretentious stage director played by Ekman himself. A marvel of intricate camera movements and subtle formal symmetries, the film suggests that life is made bearable only by necessary illusions, the most trivial and glorious of which are provided by the theater.