Ingmar Bergman and Gunnar Sjöberg during production of Wild Strawberries
Ingmar Bergman and Victor Sjöström 1957 during production of Wild Strawberries in the studios in Solna.
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.
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.
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]
The film was the inspiration 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 re-evaluates his life.
Cast
References
External links
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