Friday Night Flicks: Ingmar Bergman
1957, year of the Bergman:
The director released two of his most acclaimed works, the likes of which have arguably done more than any other two films to bridge arthouse with mainstream cinema: The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries.
It’s easy to see why The Seventh Seal gets all the attention. It’s a dark-and-doomed drama about a crusader who challenges death himself to a chess match, with frames that could hang in the Louvre:
Meanwhile, Wild Strawberries doesn’t aspire to such lofty thematic heights; but that doesn’t mean it’s any less perfect. The film follows an aging doctor who embarks on a road trip to accept an honorary degree from his alma mater, and decides to bring his pregnant stepdaughter along for the ride. Whereas The Seventh Seal deals with one man’s fate and future, Strawberries looks to the past, consisting largely of flashbacks and bizarre dream-sequences that are as visually sublime as they are strange and terrifying. It’s my favorite of the two.
And then there’s Persona, yet another one of Bergman’s masterpieces (the guy had a lot of masterpieces). But personally - after The Trial, Carnival of Souls, Faces, Wake in Fright, Oldboy, and Mirror - I’m a little burnt out on the psychodrama. Let’s save our brains for next week. —Jackson Todd
