I thought there was something of the slightly menacing John Carradine in Max Von Sydow's performance here, as the eponymous purveyor of bafflement. His troupe arrive in a forewarned small Swedish town that is full of scepticism about the wares and skills of the "Vogler" enterprise. MVS is the master magician, with his wife "Wanda" (Ingrid Thuler), his anti-wart tonic mixing aunt/grandmother (the scene-stealing Naira Wifstrand) and the enigmatic "Tubal" (Åke Fridell) all pulling their weight in this family business. The local police commissioner (Toivo Paulo) is deeply suspicious and demands that before they try out their "gifts" on the more gullible wider population, they demonstrate to a triumvirate of himself, local bigwig "Egerman" (Erland Jospehson) and the downright hostile health minister "Vergerus" (Gunnar Björnstrand). Now try as they might, these detractors just cannot disprove what they are seeing. Can this be real or is the "Vogler" science just too clever for them? What now ensues sees a sophisticated and frequently quite amusing series of battles of wits emerge. Not just between the accusers and the visitors, but soon we see a fracturing dynamic amongst the family itself as cracks begin to emerge and eyes (and hands) start to wander. It's the clever denouement that still holds up well and allows this enjoyably under-scripted poke at science and horror to conclude in an almost workmanlike manner. As ever with Bergman, it's also about the photography - and some of the intensity here, especially around the frequently rather sexually ambiguous wife, focusses on the eyes. Always the eyes. That really works well to build and sustain the growing hint of mystery and intrigue. Even we are not entirely sure what's going on and surely we would be wise to what must be their fraud? Good stuff!
