Secrets of Women (Kvinnors Väntan) (Waiting Women)

Secrets of Women (Kvinnors Väntan) (Waiting Women) (1961)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (6 reviews)

  • 72% of users liked it
    (586 ratings)

In this multi-faceted Ingmar Bergman film, rich in dramatic and comic elements, three wives pass time in a summer house, awaiting the returns of their husbands, by entertaining each other with recollections of past marital traumas. In the first recollection, the sexually unfulfilled Rakel (Anita… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Genres
Documentary, Comedy
In Theaters
Jul 11, 1961 Wide
On DVD
Jul 5, 2005
Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

  • Trevor Johnston, Time Out

    The bounty of Bergman's many superb female performances notwithstanding, it's a shame he never worked with Nilsson again.

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    The whole thing concludes with an ingenuous and typical Bergman paradox.

  • Pat Graham, Chicago Reader

    More wistful than brooding.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    This mostly light-hearted comedy was written by Bergman during what he considered a dark time in his life -- which seems strange, considering how much fun the film is.

  • Jon Fortgang, Film4

    The drama takes precedence over comedy but the wry tone makes this one of the smoothest and most accessible films from the early stages of Bergman's career.

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Cassandra M


    I love this movie; although not amongst Bergman's best, it is very funny in parts and should not be shunned. Perhaps slightly overlong - each time I watch it I wait impatiently for the lift-scene near the end of the film - but very much worthwhile. Indeed, the scene in the lift… More

  • Veronique K


    "waiting women" is ingmar bergman's estrogenic anthem on women whose worlds are inevitably intertwined with their beloved male beings. it's narrated into three folds of stories: first one is about a woman who suffers from the dreariness of marital life is… More

  • Dimitris S


    A personal favorite from the early works of Bergman and possibly the most inspiring one (remember Woody Allen's homage on the elevator scene in Manhattan Murder Mystery).Feisty in its soaring delight,the film creates a warm affection towards women and this mysterious… More

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Cast

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