Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 21, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the World Noir Vol. 3 set from Radiance Films.

Radiance has been aggregating some interesting examples of "global noir" for a few years now, starting with late 2023's World Noir Vol. 1 (which I was not sent to review) and then World Noir Vol. 2 several months later in August of 2024. Now around a year after their "sophomore" offering, the label is releasing this rather interesting trio of films, one which includes Peter Lorre's only directorial credit, a somewhat Sirkian (or perhaps more appropriately Todd Haynes-ian) take on a supposedly secret "alternative lifestyle", and a final effort featuring a star turn by the inimitable Michel Simon. As with the previous set I've personally reviewed, this set also offers some very worthwhile supplemental material. It may be of interest to some that as of the writing of this review, there is already a World Noir Vol. 4 on tap from Radiance in just a few more months.

Note: It's well nigh impossible to cogently discuss Girl with Hyacinths without mentioning a salient plot point which was something of a shock to 1950s audiences, so spoiler-phobes should probably skip the following comments.

Girl with Hyacinths is almost like watching a fever dream version of Citizen Kane, with a central character dying in the first few seconds and then the rest of the film piecing together what happened courtesy of investigative work that leads to a number of "interviews" with those who knew the deceased. In this particular case, that focal character is a female named Dagmar Brink (Eva Henning), and she doesn't expire as a decrepit elder in a bed, but rather as a suicide victim hanging herself seemingly in the prime of life. And without joking too much while also hinting at why this film was so groundbreaking at the time of its release that some people evidently just did not "get it", let's just say "Rosebud" in this instance may not be a cherished childhood object, but instead an allusion to Dagmar's sexual preference.

It's of course hard to see the subtext of Girl with Hyacinths in the same way a 1950 audience would have, but even granting that there may be less "shock" for contemporary audiences about the ultimate reveal (which is really kind of discursively doled out), the film is still a fascinating character study and also a rather interesting example of how structure can affect actual narrative content. In this particular case, a number of seemingly unrelated "interview" denouements slowly but surely point toward a sad but perhaps understandable reason why Dagmar chose to end her life.

Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Girl with Hyacinths is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. Radiance sent a check disc for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer in an insert booklet, but their website states this is a 2K restoration presented on Blu-ray for the first time outside of Sweden. The same kind of prefatory Svenska Filminstitutet infor cards that are on a lot of the Criterion Ingmar Bergman restorations is also on this release, and further clarifies that a 2014 restoration was done from the 35mm interpositive and the 35mm optical track. Content wise, this might seem to be a somewhat strange film to include in a perceived noir set, but stylistically it's quite in tune with noir sensibilities, with an emphasis on occasionally askew framings, and an emphasis on shadowy environments. Detail levels are quite appealing throughout, arguably tending to falter only due to some lower lighting choices made. Contrast is solid and grain resolves without any issues.

Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Girl with Hyacinths features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in the original Swedish. There's some slight breakup and crackling in the opening credits sequence, and later throughout the quieter moments of the presentation, occasional pops and other signs of age related wear and tear can be heard, but on the whole, things are in fine fettle in terms of providing resonant ambient environmental effects and even some occasionally diagetic music (Dagmar plays piano). Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary by Peter Jilmstad


• Meeting with Hasse (HD; 1:03:47) is an archival Swedish television documentary from 1993 featuring director Hasse Ekman.


• Golden Streaks in my Blood: Seeing and Not Seeing in Girl with Hyacinths (HD; 11:28) is a visual essay by Julia Armfield addressing the "secret" which was so shocking when the film was first released.

Girl with Hyacinths Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The "shock value" that Dagmar's secret engendered back in 1950 (at least for those hip enough to understand it) probably won't have the same energy for contemporary sensibilities, but even with that perceived "twist" removed, Girl with Hyacinths is an extremely interesting and provocative character study, anchored by a really fascinating performance by Eva Henning. It's notable that none other than Ingmar Bergman considered this film to be a masterpiece. Technical merits are generally solid (video probably more than audio), and the supplements very interesting. Recommended.