rating:
(out of
4 stars)Sweden; 1957
Directed by Ingmar Bergman; produced by Allan Ekelund; written by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Victor Sjöström, Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin, Jullan Kindahl, Bibi Andersson
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Wild Strawberries' ('Smultronstället') is a beautiful movie. Not only in
its story but also in the looks. Ingmar Bergman, one of the greatest of
filmmakers, has made a movie that is interesting from start to finish. The
story about an older man who has dreams and hallucinations that make him
realize that he has lived an empty and cold life is great.
I don't want to say too much about the story but a little is needed.
Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) must travel to Lund to receive an
honorary award from the university. He takes his daughter in law, Marianne
(Ingrid Thulin), with him. She left her husband Evald (Gunnar Björnstrand)
for reasons not to be revealed by me. She doesn't like Isak because he only
thinks of himself, he is cold, not a nice man. On the road they meet and
take some people and every time the old professor falls a sleep he has a
dream about the events in his past.
Minor spoilers.
The first dream sequence shows him his own death and it is a great moment.
From there the dreams show how empty and cold he is, the mistakes in his
life, they even explain that what his punishment is for the things he has
done. Every dream is as great as the first. In the end when he does a first
try to make things good again we feel what the professor must feel and it is
a beautiful moment.
'Wild Strawberries' is a great movie. There are messages and deeper
thoughts, but the movie is also great if you just watch it and don't think
too much about those things. Bergman makes every shot worth watching and
therefore you have a good time anyway.