Bergman Island (2021)
I haven’t even watched any Bergman films, so I guess there are plenty of references I don’t see here. It does work on its own though and provide enough information for everyone to understand why Bergman is important for the narrative.
It does however very much feel like a movie aimed at cinephiles. It is about two directors visiting the so called “Bergman Island” (Farö) in Sweden working on their respective scripts and promotion for the latest film. Chris is the center of the story and she struggles with her new script, especially the ending. She has a desperate need to find inspiration and feedback, and she doesn’t get much of that from her husband.
It is hard to come up with a more self and meta referential narrative than this. The script she is struggling with becomes a literal movie within the movie, also taking place on the same island with references to Bergman film locations, and I have seen interviews with Mie Hansen-Løve saying that she is also inspired by Bergman and this movie is at least partly autobiographical. So we have several narrative both inside and outside the movie pointing to this island and Bergman
That is all well made and sort of interesting, but also a very closed referential loop and I never really felt the movie opened up for me for that reason.
Rating: 3.5