Possibly Ingmar Bergman's finest film and a landmark in film history. Victor Sjostrom stars as Isak Borg, a medical professor on his way to accept an honorary degree on the 50th anniversary of his graduation from the University at Lund. He rides with his daughter-in-law, Marianne (Ingrid
Thulin), who has decided to leave her husband. They don't get along, mainly because the old man reminds her so much of her husband. En route, they stop at Isak's childhood house, where he recalls his family in the days of his youth (although he is unseen by the characters and not present in the
flashback). He sees his sweetheart, Sara (Bibi Andersson), picking wild strawberries and carrying on seductively with his brother. Later he is awakened (in the present) by a teenage girl named Sara (again played by Andersson). She asks the old man for a ride, bringing along two male friends. This
foray proves less than idyllic, hampered by a car crash and Isak's disturbing nightmares.
WILD STRAWBERRIES is viewed by many as Bergman's greatest achievement. Its most striking segment, which perhaps best illustrates Bergman's technique, is a dream sequence in which Isak walks through a desolate city, is approached by a faceless man, sees a clock without hands, and watches a funeral
wagon crash and leave a coffin in the middle of the street. As he nears the coffin, it opens, and the corpse--again Isak--emerges and attempts to pull him into the afterlife. The visual and aural symbolism is chilling, and the entire scene is perfectly integrated into the "reality" of the rest of
the picture. Sjostrom, in his final film, delivers one of the finest performances in any Bergman film--a major accomplishment considering the virtuosity that Bergman's actors consistently display. leave a comment
