Why it is in the book: "[The main character] Borg's redemptive acquisition of self-knowledge affects those around him, too, and the miracle of Wild Strawberries is that Bergman never inflects this conclusion with sentimentality." 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider
Outside of The Seventh Seal, I have not been too exposed to Ingmar Bergman. After watching this movie, I wish I had. I have read many reviews on this movie and some people have felt it is the worst movie they have ever seen. I would definitely say this movie might not be for the masses, but it was for me. The movie flows similar to a well written poem. It is told using current time as well as dreams and flashbacks. It is the story of an older man who is travelling to accept a collegiate honor. He decides to make this trip via car and his daughter-in-law comes along. During this drive he encounters a number of people that each give something different to the overall story.
I wish there were movies made like this today. Poetry using moving images is truly something to watch. Each and every character has a lot of depth and could easily stand on their own if they were the focal point. The parallels of the 3 teenagers that Borg picks up and his own life was a great way to give additional information about his past without having to show it to us. Victor Sjostrom gives a great performance as Professor Isak Borg and lends great credibility to the character. The opening dream sequence is a great prelude to the type of movie you are about to watch. It is full of not-so-subtle symbolism and eerie tones. As the film progresses, Borg transforms from a person no one seems to like to a person that is worthy of companionship (as he was when he was younger).
I highly recommend this movie for film buffs as well as writers, but I would not think average movie-goers would stay interested. In a time when CGI movies reign at the box office, it is nice to watch a movie completely focused on story and characters (no offense to the Michael Bay fans out there).
Link to Wild Strawberries on IMDB
Link to Wild Strawberries DVD
I saw this quite a few years ago when I was working on the year ending IMDB Top 250 lists. I honestly don't remember much from it now.
ReplyDeleteSince then I have seen several more Bergman films and for whatever reason he just doesn't do much for me. Other than The Seventh Seal I can't really say I've truly liked one of his films. That's just me, though. I've loved most every Kurosawa film I've seen, but I know people who've hated them.
Every person is extremely different in what they love or hate. I am a huge Kurosawa fan as well. I will say that I went into Wild Strawberries with very low expectations. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind. That could have helped me, but I did think it was extremely poetic.
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