Wild Strawberries (film)

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Smultronstället

Directed by	Ingmar Bergman
Produced by	Allan Ekelund
Written by	Ingmar Bergman
Starring	Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand
Cinematography	Gunnar Fischer
Editing by	Oscar Rosander
Distributed by	Svensk Filmindustri
Release date(s)	December 26, 1957 June 22, 1959
Running time	91 min.
Language	Swedish
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Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries, lit. The Wild Strawberry Patch) is a 1957 film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Victor Sjöström stars as a medical doctor and professor who is forced by nightmares, daydreams, his old age, and his impending death to reevaluate his life while driving with his daughter-in-law from Stockholm to Lund in order to receive an honorary degree from Lund University. The film contains many themes and devices which later became known as Bergman's artistic trademarks. Strawberries, for instance, are an important symbol to Bergman, who had used them in The Seventh Seal. The cast includes Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Björnstrand. Max von Sydow also appears in a small part.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay. Many film critics and film scholars consider the film to be one of Bergman's best, despite having been made relatively early in his career.

The Seventh Seal, also considered one of Bergman's best films by many film critics/scholars, was also released in 1957, making it a year of prodigious output for Ingmar Bergman.

Woody Allen's 1997 film Deconstructing Harry is loosely based upon Bergman's Wild Strawberries. Woody Allen is a well-known fan of Bergman's films and many consider Deconstructing Harry as his personal homage to Wild Strawberries.

Ingmar Bergman wrote the screenplay for Wild Strawberries while he was in the hospital.

[edit] External links

Smultronstället at the Internet Movie Database
Criterion Collection essay by Peter Cowie
In depth review of film
Wild Strawberries at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list

Films by Ingmar Bergman

Crisis • A Ship to India • Summer with Monika • Smiles of a Summer Night • The Seventh Seal • Wild Strawberries • The Magician • The Virgin Spring • Through a Glass Darkly • Winter Light • The Silence • All These Women • Persona • Hour of the Wolf • Skammen • The Rite • The Passion of Anna • The Touch • Cries and Whispers • Scenes from a Marriage • The Magic Flute • Face to Face • The Serpent's Egg • Autumn Sonata • From the Life of the Marionettes • Fanny and Alexander • Karin's Face • After the Rehearsal • In the Presence of a Clown • Saraband