Wild Strawberries (film)

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Wild Strawberries

Original film poster
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 (Sweden)
June 22, 1959 (USA)
Running time 91 min.
Language Swedish
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Wild Strawberries (Swedish: Smultronstället) 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". The cast includes Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Björnstrand. Max von Sydow also appears in a small role. Bergman wrote the screenplay while in hospital.[1] In light of Bergman's recent death, the film's great emotional struggles have been the cause of it gaining the recognition as one of his great works.

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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 re-evaluate his life. He meets a variety of people on the road, from Sara, a female hitcher travelling with her fiance and escort, to a quarrelling married couple who remind Isak of his own life and marriage.

[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 Writing 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".[2]

[edit] Cast

Ingmar Bergman and Gunnar Sjöberg during production of Wild Strawberries
Ingmar Bergman and Gunnar Sjöberg during production of Wild Strawberries

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wild Strawberries. The Ingmar Bergman Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-04-15.
  2. ^ U.S. Catholic Bishops - Office of Film and Broadcasting, Vatican Best Films List

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Twelve Angry Men
Golden Bear winner
1958
Succeeded by
Les Cousins