Wild Strawberries (1957)
After watching Bergman Island I wanted to at least get started on some Bergman films. Wild Strawberries was a good place to start I think. I can definitely see how Bergman have influenced other filmmakers and I have gotten an appetite for seeing some more Bergman now, but I wasn’t immediately blown away either.
I am not sure what I expected from a Bergman film, but the casual humor took me a bit by surprise. While not a comedy by any stretch, it still has plenty of genuinely funny as well as endearing moments. Using a longer journey as a vehicle for reflecting on ones past and mortality. It reminded me of Only Yesterday which I watched recently, with interspersing scenes of the journey and dream like memories of the past. And as it often goes, it is the journey not the destination that matters.
While it is Dr. Borg who is central for this film, I was impressed with how much Bergman managed to get out of the various minor characters they meet along the way. The quarreling couple they almost crash into, the young hitchhikers and the gas station owners. And the doctors mother was a delight as well. All of them showed a glimpse of a past, present and future with only a few minutes on screen.
Rating: 4