Wild Strawberries (film)
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| Wild Strawberries | |
 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Allan Ekelund |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Starring | Victor Sjöström Bibi Andersson Ingrid Thulin Gunnar Björnstrand |
| Music by | Erik Nordgren |
| Cinematography | Gunnar Fischer |
| Editing by | Oscar Rosander |
| Distributed by | AB Svensk Filmindustri |
| Release date(s) | Sweden: 26 December 1957 United States: 22 June 1959 |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | Sweden |
| Language | Swedish Latin |
Wild Strawberries is a 1957 film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, about an old man recalling his past. The original Swedish title is Smultronstället, which literally means "the wild strawberry patch", but idiomatically means an underrated gem of a place (often with personal or sentimental value). The cast includes Victor Sjöström in his final screen performance, as well as Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Björnstrand. Max von Sydow also appears in a small role. Bergman wrote the screenplay while hospitalized.[1] Because it tackles difficult questions about life, and thought-provoking themes such as self-discovery and humanity's existence, the film is often considered to be one of Bergman's most emotional, one of his most optimistic, and one of his best.[2]
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[edit] Synopsis
Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) is an elderly medical doctor and professor who drives with his daughter-in-law Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) from Stockholm to Lund to receive an honorary degree from Lund University. During the trip, he is forced by nightmares, daydreams, his old age, and his impending death to reevaluate his life. He meets a variety of people on the road, from Sara, a female hitcher traveling with her fiance and escort, to a quarreling married couple who remind Isak of his own life and marriage.
[edit] Cast
- Victor Sjöström as Professor Isak Borg
- Bibi Andersson as Sara
- Ingrid Thulin as Marianne Borg
- Gunnar Björnstrand as Evald Borg
- Jullan Kindahl as Agda
- Folke Sundquist as Anders
- Björn Bjelfvenstam as Viktor
- Naima Wifstrand as Isak's Mother
- Gunnel Broström as Mrs. Alman
- Gertrud Fridh as Karin, Isak's wife
- Sif Ruud as Aunt Olga
- Gunnar Sjöberg as Sten Alman
- Max von Sydow as Henrik Åkerman
- Åke Fridell as Karin's lover
- Yngve Nordwall as Uncle Aron
- Per Sjöstrand as Sigfrid Borg
- Gio Petré as Sigbritt Borg
- Gunnel Lindblom as Charlotta Borg
- Maud Hansson as Angelica Borg
- Ann-Marie Wiman as Eva Åkerman
- Eva Norée as Anna Borg
- Lena Bergman as Kristina Borg, twin
- Monica Ehrling as Birgitta Borg, twin
[edit] Production
The shooting took place between 2 July 1957 and 27 August 1957.[3] Contrary to popular belief, Sjöström was cast relatively late for the leading part, with Bergman not having any particular person in mind while writing the screenplay. Bergman has described how he came up with the idea while driving from Stockholm to Dalarna, stopping in Uppsala where he had been born and raised, and driving by outside his grandmother's old house, when he suddenly began to think about how it would be if he could open the door and inside it would be just as it had been during his childhood. "So it struck me - what if you could make a film about this; that you just walk up in a realistic way and open a door, and then you walk into your childhood, and then you open another door and come back to reality, and then you make a turn around a street corner and arrive in some other period of your existence, and everything goes on, lives. That was actually the idea behind Wild Strawberries".[4]
[edit] Awards and recognition
The film won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay.
The film is included on the Vatican Best Films List, recommended for its portrayal of a man's "interior journey from pangs of regret and anxiety to a refreshing sense of peace and reconciliation".[5]
The film was the inspiration[citation needed] for Deconstructing Harry, written and directed by Woody Allen, in which a man (Allen) goes on a road trip to his former university to receive an honorary degree and on the way meets an assortment of characters and reevaluates his life.
[edit] References
- ^ "Wild Strawberries". The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. http://www.ingmarbergman.se/page.asp?guid=B31C7193-D784-4A94-88F2-98886CF35BFF&LanCD=EN. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
- ^ Murray, Edward (1978). Ten Film Classics: A Re-viewing. F. Ungar Publishing Co.. ISBN 9780804426503.
- ^ Swedish Film Institute on the film (in Swedish) Swedish Film Institute
- ^ Bergman om Bergman, Björkman, Maans and Sima, Stockholm 1970, Norstedts Förlag
- ^ U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office of Film and Broadcasting, Vatican Best Films List
[edit] External links
- Wild Strawberries (film) at the Internet Movie Database
- Wild Strawberries (film) at Allmovie
- Criterion Collection essay by Peter Cowie
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Twelve Angry Men |
Golden Bear winner 1958 |
Succeeded by Les Cousins |
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