I saw Bergman's The Virgin Spring earlier this year and really, really liked it. Wild Strawberries was less powerful for me. Maybe it's too contemplative, maybe it's too full of symbolic images (not something I've ever been a fan of), maybe it's just a topic I'm not old enough to connect with emotionally. Although I enjoyed watching it and was impressed by it, in the end it left me a little cold. Impressive, but not one I ever "got into." 3 stars.
Best Part: I absolutely loved the flashback conversation between Marianne and Evald. I can't even say why. It just hit me in a way I didn't expect.
Worst Part: I never like mysterious symbolic dream sequences. That first one especially just did nothing for me.
FlickChart: #505, below High Noon and above The Dark Knight.
1 comment:
I had never seen a Bergman film until last September when I streamed four of them for a Criterion viewing challenge. Wild Strawberries was the third of the four, sandwiched between the bonus disc of The Rock and The Thief of Bagdad. I loved it, though I've been told I have an "old soul" so perhaps such things resonate more readily with me.
I thought about Up more than once while watching Wild Strawberries, partly because they both feature cranky old men as the lead protagonist and partly because both are laden with the symbolism you dislike. I shared your disdain for ages, until a college English professor made it all click for me and now I'm much more attentive to (and appreciative of) such things.
At this exact moment, I have it ranked #193/1297, between Broken Lizard's Club Dread (#192) and Dawn of the Dead (2004) (#194). My top 250 needs some revision, though, so that'll probably change.
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