The War Game + Night Games

Night Games

Although Mai Zetterling’s Night Games premiered at the Venice Film Festival, it was deemed too controversial, and all public screenings were canceled. Only the festival jury was allowed to watch it at a private screening. This was yet another scandal-causing film in the Swedish director’s career – and not the last. During the San Francisco Film Festival, Shirley Temple resigned from her position as festival director in protest against the film being included in the program, dismissing it as… pornography. Such reactions prove that Zetterling had an uncanny sense for identifying taboos — and the courage to confront them head-on.

This time, her aim was to portray a Europe drowning in decadence. A gothic-tinged tale of ghosts from the past haunting an old mansion, Night Games unfolds in the upper echelons of society. It’s a story of forbidden sexual desires, trauma, and the futile attempts to erase it. The film’s unique structure navigates between the protagonist’s adulthood and childhood, the past and the present, turning the house into a vessel for relived memories. Brilliantly captured introspections and Zetterling’s fearless confrontation with repressed legacies are just some of the virtues of Night Games, a film famously cherished by John Waters.

Małgorzata Sadowska

Mai Zetterling (1925–1994) was a Swedish actress, director, and screenwriter. She began her career as an actress and gained international recognition for her role in Torment (1944), directed by Alf Sjöberg. In the 1960s, she turned to directing, exploring themes such as loneliness and sexuality in her films. Her debut feature, Loving Couples (1964), sparked controversy at the Cannes Film Festival due to its bold depiction of sexuality.