The Serpent’s Egg
It's early November, 1923. Jewish-American brothers Abel and Max Rosenberg, and Max's ex-wife Manuela Rosenberg had a trapeze act in a circus touring through Europe up until a month ago when a wrist injury to Max sidelined the act. The three remained in Berlin, Germany generally depressed with rampant inflation leading to Abel taking up the bottle to cope. The Jewish are also being blamed for many of society's problems, but Abel fears no reprisal against himself if he does nothing wrong. Abel and Manuela, the latter who ended up living in a rooming house on her own while working in a cabaret, are reunited when Abel has to inform her that Max committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Feeling at a loss both professionally with the act no more and emotionally both due to Max's death, Abel and Manuela turn to each other for comfort and support as the only person the other truly has. Abel's life becomes even more complicated when Police Inspector Bauer, who handled Max's suicide case, questions Abel about a series of other mysterious deaths in the last month in the vicinity of where he lived, some of the people he admits to knowing if only by face. In the process, Abel begins to believe that he may be being set up to take the fall solely for being Jewish. But as Manuela tries to set up some sort of life so that the two of them can be together, Abel begins to get caught up in the unwitting circumstances which may lead to the same fate as Max and the others Abel was shown in the morgue. —Huggo
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Actors: Christian Berkel, David Carradine, Gert Fröbe, Heinz Bennent, Liv Ullmann, Paula Braend, Toni Berger
Country: United States, West Germany
