Wild Strawberries (1957)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Actors: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin
I remember vividly back in 2010, my love for film had just began. I was desperate to know more about this incredible medium. I obviously didn’t know where to start so I just searched “Top Movies of All Time” on Google and watched the films that were common between lists. Clearly it wasn’t the correct choice for someone who a year ago thought movies were just a fun time you had every once in a while in the theater. I didn’t understand why certain movies were considered “great”. Some films though were appealing regardless, films like Pulp Fiction, 12 Angry Men, and Goodfellas still impressed me at that time. However there were certain films where I would end up just scratching my head. Within my first year of “discovering film” I remember watching 2001 A Space Odyssey and you can expect my reaction. I had no idea what all of the fuss was about, but I was determined to come back to it later. Many years later I returned and understood the brilliance of that film. However, one film I never went back to was The Seventh Seal. I watched it during the same time of my life and got bored out of my mind. I saw a man playing chess with this weird robed figure throughout the film. Did not get it at all. For some reason I just forgot about it, and never looked back. Until last year when I plunged back into the world of Bergman with Persona. From the first minute I was hooked, and it is obvious from my review. I mean I gave it a 10, which I never do. Anyway, I decided to go in again. Maybe Persona was just an isolated experience, because that feeling I had back in 2010 was still lingering at the back of my mind. Taunting me that I just wont get it. Well I went into this film with an open mind and no expectations, and I left with a feeling of melancholy and many thoughts about my life.
I really don’t think any amount of analysis or review can truly do this film justice, or any Bergman piece as a matter of fact. The amount of complexity in his films is just mind boggling. Especially for the time. Whenever I watch any of his movies I always forget the year it was made, and whenever I pause the film and see the release date, my eyes go wide. Because I barely even see people nowadays make films with this much complexity and quality (there are exceptions but regardless, you get my point). The entire film boils down to the self reflection of a man, and what he has become. But the way it is executed is brilliant. The dream scenes along with monologues the character gives are incredibly imaginative. He does not merely depend on words to get his point across, he uses clever camera techniques to invoke the feeling of the character.
We can see Isak’s frustration as he starts to realize what a cold person he has been. During the first flashback scene, we see that Sara is talking positively about him the whole time. I have a theory for this, however I’m not sure it holds any validity. I felt like that whole sequence did not happen exactly as was shown in the flashback. The reason being is that Isak was not actually there during that whole entire sequence in the past. He was on a boat fishing with his father. I feel like present day Isak imagined how he thought the whole affair went, which is why he was painted in a positive light. The theory is reinforced by the fact that when “Past Isak” was about to arrive in the flashback, “Present Isak” suddenly woke up by the hands of the hitchhikers. It can’t be a coincidence. Nevertheless, Isak’s second dream sequence flips the script and goes at him hard. He is first confronted by Sara, his love, with a mirror. She forces him to look at himself. Throughout the whole sequence his face is held in a grimace, never really smiling. This transitions quickly into an examination. What he thought was an examination of him being a doctor was actually an examination of him as a person. He ends up being guilty of charges such selfishness, and rudeness. Justifiably, Isak is shocked at this, so the examiner takes him back again to the past as he sees his wife in a forest. She strolls around with a man and they end up making love. She proceeds to then talk openly about how Isak is as cold as ice. This scene feels like a stab in the heart for Isak, for after all these years he finally realized that he failed the people he loved, and wasted all that was given to him. He realizes by being cold and distant he has made his wife into what she is. She is not at fault for cheating on him, he is to blame as much as anyone else in the scenario. This is analogized by the way his wife and lover just suddenly disappear. The examiner states that they were “removed by a surgical masterpiece”, which is sort of a commentary on Isak’s incredible skill as both a doctor and for neglecting the people he loves. The entire sequence was incredibly poignant. Again I reiterate that I don’t believe I can do any justice to this film, but with what I can, I am trying to explain the brilliance.
Another huge theme of this movie is that of loneliness. By the negligence and cold treatment Isak was giving off, he has managed to isolate himself from the world. This is seen throughout the film in many ways. The way the film opens up even evokes a sense of loneliness. The camera is filming from a low angle and we see a resting dog next to an old man all alone in a room writing. It’s something very simple but it still adds to the entire feeling of loneliness and melancholy that the film brings out. Not only that but the first dream sequence as well enforces this feeling. By immediately starting the film with that dream, Bergman implanted into the viewer that somber feeling, that something is not quiet right. We see Isak all alone on the street as he gazes up to a clock with no hands. In my opinion it signifies that his time is over, he cant go back and fix what he has damaged, and he cannot continue with his life with his newly acquired knowledge of his actions. He is stuck in this limbo at the end of his life, and nothing is going to change it. It is a sad sentiment but an important one. It reinforces the idea of self reflection and not wasting time for it may go away in the blink of an eye. The dream sequences were not the only aspect that shows the loneliness of Isak. I noticed that most of the wide angle shots of Isak driving across the country had basically no other cars in them. I’m not saying every shot had no cars, but a significant amount of them didn’t. Which is why I noticed them. It just made me feel uneasy which I guess is what Bergman wanted. I feel like no matter how much I write I am still scratching the surface, even though I am currently just talking about one theme. I will move along so that I can get to other points.
An aspect of Wild Strawberries I did not expect as I was watching was how thought provoking the film is. It gave the viewer many philosophical view points but they were not in your face. They were masked within the characters and whomever you as a viewer gravitate towards says something about your philosophy in life. An example is Anders and Viktor, the two hitchhikers. One believes in a God that created the earth and the other finds it ridiculous how one can even believe in a God. But the way this is presented allows the viewer to think on their own beliefs. Sara goes up to Isak and rhetorically asks “How can one believe in God anyway?”. There Bergman deliberately does not let Isak answer. It is as if he wants the viewer to answer in their head. You will either go “yeah I know right”, or “psh, what is she talking about”. One of those two thoughts will wizz through your head as you watch that scene and that it is why it is so brilliant. It keeps you thinking. Now if you aren’t the type of person who falls into God or no God, we can see that Bergman had other characters express their philosophies on life without bringing up a divine spirit. Evald, Isak’s son, is clearly an absurdist in the vein of Camus. He freely expresses his lack of fear and care of death, along with blatantly telling his wife as she talks about having a baby that “life is absurd, so why would I bring another into this absurd world” (or something along those lines). His wife Marianne however views life in a much more optimistic way. She believes that change can happen. That she can stop this coldness that has been left by Isak and passed down to Evald. There are so many more examples of how Bergman tried to incorporate philosophy and thought provocation, but again I will say it, I can’t do it justice. The more I analyze the deeper the film gets, and I will just be stuck in an endless rabbit hole that will never end.
Wild Strawberries is a master film. It is one that cannot just be viewed once. It must be studied and analyzed until we are able to uncover all of the secrets that Bergman left for us. The technicality of the film is years ahead of its time. Not only that, the way that he tackles the subjects of loneliness, self reflection, and religion feels so modern. It is like his mind was not meant for that time. I cannot keep praising this film because I think you already know that I think the film is incredible. Bergman has not disappointed me, and in regards to my first paragraph. I really need to go back and watch The Seventh Seal. Its funny how much you change when you are more exposed. I bet if I watched this film back in 2010 like I did Seventh Seal, I would despise it. And 2019 Omar would be forced to build a time machine and slap past Omar. Because this film is not something to just shrug off. It is one that must be preserved for ages along with all his other films. They are among the best of the best when it comes to cinematic art. It is undeniably great.
9.6/10
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