SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

One can see the beginnings of some pretty wonderful cinematography in this early work by Ingmar Bergman. It is a slice of life story about two down-and-outers who have been dealt a bad hand. The young woman has a sparkle, despite growing from an abusive family situation. She is dominated by her mother. She has spent time in a reformatory because her life is intolerable and she turns to a man who kindly takes her in. Because of her age, the mother can do what she wants. The sailor is a man who has just arrived at this port of call. His first act upon coming ashore is to rescue the young woman, who has decided top end it all by jumping in the harbor. Their paths cross again and it develops into a tenuous relationship. His first act is to get her into bed, but over time he realizes that she is all he has. Bergman does a nice job of making these people real. She has all kinds of demons and he has trouble accepting her morose being. She has a right to feel the way she does and he really is an unfeeling cad. If one is willing, he can see the framing of scenes, the positions of actors, and some pretty interesting symbols. It is a claustrophobic film. Outdoor scenes are scenes of freedom, even the suicide attempt; and indoor the forces of the outside close in. See this as a foundation piece.

The sailor Gösta Andersson (Bengt Eklund) quits sailing in Gothenburg and while walking in the harbor, he rescues the worker Berit Irene Holms (Nine-Christine Jönsson) that has just jumped into the sea attempting to commit suicide. Then he meets his friends and finds a job of dockworker with them. A couple of days later, Gösta and Berit meet each other by chance in a ball and they have sex at her house. Gösta dates the needy Berit that falls in love with him and decides to tell her past in a reformatory school and her former relationships to him. But the twenty-nine year old man is not ready to forget the past of Berit and forgive her. "Hamnstad" is the fifth Bergman's film with a bitter and bleak love story of a needy and lonely girl raised in a dysfunctional family with a domineering mother that is sent to a reformatory school, and her boyfriend that likes her, but can not forgive her past. This is the typical anti-Hollywood love story, with themes that seems to be ahead of time (for a 1948 film), such as abortion and one night stand between the couple that has just met each other. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Porto" ("Seaport")

"Hamnstad" is one of the rare Swedish films focusing on family life.Its uniqueness is due to the fact that it has an eclectic mix of serious themes. These themes include bitter, harsh realities like abortion,broken home, correctional house etc. Bergman has deftly portrayed the dreary lives of its two lonely protagonists : Gosta and Berit. For this purpose, he has chosen a small provincial port town where nothing much happens. This film is a good record of how gloomy the life in Sweden (Europe) during 1940s was. Bergman has also shown us how all emotional problems are solved if lovers decide to remain true to each other. This is precisely the case of Gosta and Berit.Gosta has always led a hard life. He is a moody soul too. As a sailor, he has been out on sea for many years. For this reason he is unable to believe that some girl can enter his life in order to love him.There are doubts in Berit's mind too. As a loner, she tries hard to leave her past behind. As a young lass, Berit witnessed numerous fights involving her father and mother. This is one of the reasons why there is enormous distance between Berit and her mother. It is during one of these turbulent emotional phases that Berit meets Gosta. Even though Gosta is a tough nut to crack, his love for Berit is real. On one occasion, Gosta fights some young rascals to prove his intensity of emotional attachment for Berit. Gosta even proves that he is the ideal man for Berit as he solemnly ignores Berit's revelation that in the past, she was sent to a correction house. He urges Berit to make an earnest effort to leave her past behind. Berit has no hesitation at all in following this humble piece of advice. It is precisely in this manner that both Berit and Gosta embark on a successful journey to lead a happy, joyful life as companions for life. All of Bergman's film have a message to offer to audiences. Through "Hamnstad", he wishes to tell us all that being alone is a terrible feeling.

While Gosta, a seaman, arrives in Gothenburg, a young girl, Berit, makes a suicide attempt in the city harbour. After saving her, a rather promising relationship seems to begin but much work needs to be done from both of them in order to be together. In 1948, Ingmar Bergman seems already familiar with the themes that he will never stop examining throughout his career. He observes and studies human behavior in everyday circumstances, in an effort to get a glimpse of its roots. Berit is depressed, but her situation has a long story, starting from her childhood. Growing up with a mother that never cared for anything and anyone but herself and a father that had a problem hiding his temper, she ended up in a reform school and the implications are therefore predictable. Gosta has just finished working in the ships and he finds himself working in the docks of Gothenburg, despite his ambition for something bigger. They are both in the need of a clean start in their lives, carrying their burdens from the past on the left and their dreams for the future on the right. When they first meet, they can't possibly imagine how similar they are. In fact, they seem incapable of realizing anything because of the wall they have built around them in order to protect themselves. But she desperately needs to free herself from her mother (who impersonates all of her past) and he desperately needs to find someone to relief him from his loneliness. So, they will fight through all the difficulties for these goals. Eventually, she will learn to have some faith in other people, he will learn to forgive and they will both learn to face the past. This film also works on a political level as the story takes place among the dock workers struggling everyday just for the essentials. Bergman himself admits the influence that the Italian Neo-Realists had on him in his first films and Port of Call is a characteristic example. It is mostly shot on location and the work in cinematography is really admirable, the black and white photography and the camera movement is stunning and Bergman proves how talented he is when it comes to framing. The leading actors give notable performances, especially Nine-Christine Jonsson. Overall, Port of Call is an interesting film, a typical example of the first period in Bergman's filmography that will reach its climax with "Summer with Monika". The story may sound clichéd and naïve at times, but it is its honesty that engages its viewers, as well as the masterful shots of the great Swedish director.