Review of Wild Strawberries (2012) by Stephen J — 23 Sep 2009

Wild Strawberries is a film by Ingmar Bergman that deals with the fear of death. The film follows Professor Isak Borg as he is on his way to receive an honorary degree. Along his journey he is confronted with dreams and flashbacks that show the shortcomings of his life and his approaching death. Through these experiences Isak begins to learn where he failed and how, even later on he can change and rediscover himself.

The film shows what really matter in the end in an interesting and true way. Isak consistently has flashbacks to his childhood and the times of life he most treasured. These are vivid, clear, and consistent. What Isak does not seem to recall much of is what the world would call his prime. In one dream he fails his examination and cannot remember anything he learned and proceeds to relive a moment where he caught his wife with someone else. This dream implies that the prime of life is fleeting and ultimately forgotten; it is oneâ??s childhood that often is what returns the closer to death one gets. As Isak recognizes his coming death it makes his childhood seem so much clearer and he realizes that there really wasnâ??t that long in between.

Bergman again addresses his own fears of death and the fact that as he gets older the things from his childhood become clearer again. Throughout the film there are hints of birth and death being close together symbolizes how close our birth and death really is. There are many allegories within the film and it would take more than one watch to fully understand all that is within the film. Bergman directs another masterpiece and it is one that can easily and directly relate to all kinds of people.

Wild Strawberries is an impressive technical achievement too. The music is perfectly matched to the scenes and themes and the sounds (as Bergman always does) enhance the viewing experience and completely add impact to the scene they are in. The acting is great and the photography and editing is perfect. The opening scene with him at his desk is beautiful and the following scene of his dream/nightmare the night before is haunting and inspired. Bergman took great effort to make that scene perfect and it is fully captured that way from the sound of the heartbeats in silence to the extreme light to the body that virtually disintegrates to the coffin which falls off the buggy and contains a frightening discovery for Isak. The whole film is a work of art and a masterpiece and is yet another one of Bergmanâ??s proving his greatness as a director.