Wild Strawberries (1957)

 Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries"


Often considered one of Ingmar Bergman's most significant films, 1957's "Wild Strawberries" takes the psychology of an aging physician and places its audience directly into his psyche. Bergman had initial come to the idea of the film when he was in his hometown. Driving by his grandmother's house, he had wondered what it would be like to open its doors and see everything just as it had been in your youth. He wanted his next film to focus on this nostalgic melancholy. After being hospitalized for gastric issues and general stress-related physical symptoms, Bergman wrote the screenplay for "Wild Strawberries" in his hospital bed. 

The film focuses on Professor Isak Borg, a 78-year-old grouchy, stubborn egoist who is about to accept an honorary degree from his former college. On the trip to the event, he rides with his solemn daughter-in-law Marianne, whom does not like him very much. Along the way, they pick up three young hitchhikers on their way to Italy. During the duration of this trip, Isak slips into dreams and fantasies, consisting of varied times from his youth and subconscious fears of death. 

Through our protagonist's varied dreamscapes and subconscious ventures, we get to see the fears and memories of a single man splayed out before us. Through these rendering of one's subconscious mind, we end up seeing our own. Our memories, our childhood hopes, our contemporary fears and troubles, etc. Bergman's film calls out to us from the future. Our future selves are looking at us currently with such nostalgia, such shame, and such regret. The film is a short, solemn affair of a troubled human spirit, one that awaits us at the end of our life. 



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