Ingmar Bergman's Smultronstallet (WILD STRAWBERRIES) was released in 1957 and one of his most accessible and humanistic films, written whilst he was ill in hospital, it is, in result, one of the warmest and most deeply felt films ever made.
A renowned medical professor (legend-director Victor Sjostrom) is living his last remaining days on the road, on his way to accept an honorary degree for his contribution to medicine. Travelling with him is his daughter-in-law who hates him because he reminds her of her husband who she hates. On the way they stop at the professor's old family house where he recalls his childhood, re-enacting his memories through being there again (unseen by anyone). When he sees his old love picking wild strawberries and flirting with his brother he is awakened from his past by a beautiful girl, identical to his old love, hitchhiking on the road. She asks him for a ride, with two of her bickering male friends, one who wants to be a priest and the other who argues that God doesn't exist. Later the professor picks up a quarrelling married couple whose car has broken down. All together in the car, the professor is now reminded of his insufficiencies, disappointments and disillusionments as he harkens back to his past again. This time, though, his dreams are disturbing nightmares, which blend into his questioning of life, loss of time and realisation of mortality before, finally, by the end of his long, long journey, they help to offer him hope and redemption.
A great achievement, so technically astonishing that all films from hereon would be made, and watched, with a completely different aspect. The whole thing is condensed down to such a maxim of philosophical power, it is beyond me to comment on anything more substantial. Visually, there are sequences which are so striking in relation to the story that today, like with all of Bergman's films, they have been borrowed and parodied to such a point that, unfortunately, many a modern filmgoer must only be able to see them as dated; however this is more to the detriment of the unfortunate modern filmgoer than the film, because today as in 1957 this is still the pinnacle of every filmmaker, and the rule of thumb for every good film critic. With the type of symbolic imagery and storytelling that can still only be paralleled, never bettered, at the time it was released only in silent films had symbolism been so representative of the story. With remarkably rich shot composition, and a devastating performance of the dying professor that won't fail to break your heart, Bergman, in ninety minutes, has created cinema's most profoundly moving character study of self discovery in a simple but complex story, for which there can surely only be one more thing to add. A great film.
(A film-only review; not to be associated with the format it comes on, available bonus features or plastic bits that may or may not be attached to the casing)
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Wild Strawberries
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Production Year: 1961 - Drama - Director: Ingmar Bergman - Original Language: Swedish - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Harriet Andersson, Max Von Sydow, Gunnar Bjrnstrand
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Made in 1957, Wild Strawberries finds the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman at the ... more
height of his powers. It's a road movie, in effect: an aged medical professor (Victor Sjöström)--lonely, disillusioned and haunted by dreams of death--travels across...
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The film that catapulted Ingmar Bergman to the forefront of world cinema is the director's ... more
richest most humane movie. Traveling to receive an honorary degree professor Isak Borg (masterfully played by the veteran Swedish director Victor Sjostrom) is ...
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Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom) travels with his daughter-in-law Marianne (Ingrid ... more
Thulin) to receive an honorary doctorate for his lifelong contribution to medicine. Soon his journey becomes one of introspection, as the people he meets - from a h...
Made in 1957, Wild Strawberries finds the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman at the ... more
height of his powers. It's a road movie, in effect: an aged medical professor (Victor Sjöström)--lonely, disillusioned and haunted by dreams of death--travels across...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
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