Wild Strawberries

 

 

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This is something one who likes Bergman's films --or great films in general-- mustn't leave unwatched. Wild Strawberries cannot be mistaken for anything else than a product of Ingmar Bergman, but isn't a run-of-the-mill Bergman movie. It's a gentle but deep film with unusually few "horror" scenes; psychologically it can be horrifying, but it never turns uninteresting or unconvincing. Victor Sjöström was 79 years old during the filming of Wild Strawberries (early July through late August 1957), and does a great and very convincing job as 73 year old Isak Borg - a pedantic old professor who, on a car-ride --on his way to the University of Lund to receive his jubilee degree-- stops at his childhood home, among other places, and flashed back at his youth. Gunnar Fischer's black and white cinematography is definitely part of what makes this journey mesmerizing. The movie has won 11 awards.
Film historian Peter Cowie's commentary gives very interesting information, and an insightful and professionally presented analysis of the film. The disc also features a 90 minute documentary by Jörn Donner, which mostly consists of a 1998 interview with Bergman - this gives the disc more than 270 minutes of entertainment.
Criterion presents the film with surprisingly well restored sound and picture, and anyone can watch it - this edition is region free!

An old doctor (a magnificent performance by Victor Sjostrom) takes a
car trip to receive an award for 50 years in medicine, accompanied by
his daughter in law, and some teenage hitchhikers they pick up.

He is tormented by highly symbolic dreams (beautifully done), and by
the realization he has kept himself at an emotional distance from
others and the world, and now his life is racing towards it's end.

Quite moving in spots, but somehow never ended up with as much power as
I expected.

Two critics' notes made sense to me. One said that, for as great and
transparent as Sjostrom's performance is, he is so sweet and likable a
presence it's hard to reconcile him with a man his daughter in law
openly admits she doesn't like because of his cold nature.

The other point ' which could also be applied to 'The Seventh Seal' is
that the film seems less special today because the stylistic barriers
it broke and the doors it opened (an almost totally subjective film,
dream sequences of depth and meaning, etc) have since become a familiar
part of film grammar. But at the time, this was something new and
brave. Another to re-see.

When "Wild Strawberries" was released in 1957, Ingmar Bergman had been involved in more than a dozen films, everything from coming-of-age angst drama (the screenplay for "Torment" 1944) to sophisticated comedy ("Smiles of a Summer Night" 1955).

With "Wild Strawberries" (and "The Seventh Seal" the same year) his name became well known outside art house circles. ("Now Bergman means Ingmar, not Ingrid," as one magazine put it.) His career even became the cover story for an issue of Time.

One can only imagine American movie audiences going, out of curiosity, from the Deluxe color naughtiness of "Peyton Place" to Bergman's dark vision. Dark, yes; cold, no. In fact, this is one of Bergman's warmest films and, I think, one of the finest films ever made. The picture involves three worlds: The immediate world, the world of the past, and the world of dreams.

As Professor Borg, a 78 year-old widower, makes a day trip from his home in Stockholm to the cathedral in Lund (where he is to receive an honorary degree) he deals with all three worlds: the present (his son's estranged wife who is traveling with him, the people they meet en route, the old professor's ancient mother), the past (painful memories of his youth), and the future (a series of persecution nightmares), all hauntingly photographed by Gunnar Fischer. (The 1985 film "DreamChild", about the old age of Alice Pleasance Liddell, has almost the same construction.) I suppose it's impossible not to compare "Wild Strawberries" with "A Christmas Carol".

Like Scrooge, Professor Borg is visited by the "ghosts" of bitterness, unhappy memories, and nightmares -- and survives to find himself better adjusted to himself and other people. And Bergman obviously admires Dickens: whole scenes in "Fanny and Alexander" are lifted from "David Copperfield".

But Bergman avoids egregious sentiment, unlike De Sica, whose geriatric study "Umberto D" comes dangerously close to schmaltz. (I keep thinking Lewis Stone and Lassie.) Neither the professor's frailties nor his revelations are trivialized -- especially important in the relationship with his son, whose life has been thwarted by the professor's coldness. In a flashback, the pregnant daughter-in-law tells the professor how her husband has told her in no uncetain terms that he condemns the idea of bringing a child into this absurd world. It's a revealing scene -- and, incidently, one of the most gracefully executed flashbacks you'll ever see.

Another key scene occurs when the professor's car is sideswiped by another car occupied by a couple caught in a horrific misalliance, both the man and the woman greedily feeding off their hatred for each other. As the men work to get the couple's overturned car upright, the female stranger stands over them mocking "He strains his creaky limbs to show off in front of that pretty young girl!" However, it is the professor in the frame wih the woman, not her husband. Later, the professor confesses to his daughter-in-law that the couple reminded him of his own rotten marriage. Sunny? Hardly. Yet the sun shines even in Sweden and the conclusion of "Wild Strawberries" could be construed as a happy ending, though not pat and omniscient.

Another plus is the excellent cast, including VIctor Sjöström (who had directed films in Hollywood during the silent era) as Professor Borg, Ingrid Thulin as his daughter-in-law, and Gunnar Björnstrand as his son. Max von Sydow can be seen briefly as a Texaco attendant, centuries away from the tormented knight of "The Seventh Seal". Bibi Andersson has a dual role, as a hip young hitchhiker in the "present" sequences and as the professor's lost love in the "past" sequences. To my knowledge, she and Sjöström are the only two actors to appear in all three worlds. These three worlds may seem forbidding to the uninitiated, but open up to them and you'll find they're filled with the intriguing artistry of a cinema master.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent movie....
This is a great movie and one of my favorites, but why is it so much more than the version sold on Amazon.com? It's $58CDN while the version on the US website is US$35. Read more

Published on April 10 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably not for young people, generally.
I think that this is a great movie; it's well filmed and well thought out and it kept me interested the whole way through. Read more

Published on Sep 28 2004 by Esn024

5.0 out of 5 stars When film was an art form
In this symbolic tale of an old man's journey from emotional isolation to a kind of personal renaissance, Ingmar Bergman explores in part his own past, and in doing so rewards us... Read more

Published on Jun 21 2004 by Dennis Littrell

5.0 out of 5 stars The film that catapulted Bergman to fame
>Wild Strawberries was the film that thrust Swedish director Ingmar Bergman into the spotlight. Filmed in 1957, the movie follows an elderly college professor on a car trip to... Read more

Published on Jan 15 2004 by Peggy Vincent

2.0 out of 5 stars "Can't you see you're the one I love?"
Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" explores the twilight years of a person's life when an individual cannot help but reflect on his or her past personal triumphs and regrets. Read more

Published on Jan 11 2004 by Steven Y.

2.0 out of 5 stars A contrarian view
As I look at all the 5 star reviews that others have given this film I wonder if I am being foolhardy in daring to say something to the contrary. Read more

Published on July 23 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars A heart breakingly beautiful movie
Although Ingmar Bergman is justifiably regarded as one of the great filmmakers in film history, this could be his most beautiful and moving film. Read more

Published on April 30 2003 by Robert Moore

5.0 out of 5 stars Bergman's Humanism
I am not going to summarize the plot. Amazon.com's editors do a good job of that.

I watched this, Wild Strawberries, right after viewing of The Seventh Seal. Read more

Published on Jan 22 2003 by Niloofar Ziae

5.0 out of 5 stars Formidable Film at Start of Formidable Career
It is hard to imagine living up to this film with the rest of your career with this one in its beginning. Read more

Published on Dec 6 2002 by carol irvin

5.0 out of 5 stars vermooten!!
An old man goes picking wild strawberries in a wood, and ends up playing chess with Death. But it turns out that Death can't play Battleships as well and Bill and Ted, so he... Read more

Published on Nov 10 2002 by Andy Rubio

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