Bergman Island (2006)
Bergman Island(SWE) Directed by Marie Nyerod.
If one has read books about and by, and seen interviews with the man born Ernst Ingmar Bergman (including the famous Dick Cavett TV interview in Sweden from the 1970s), much of the information contained within this film will come as no great revelation. The documentary was based on three separate interviews Marie Nyerod did with the 86 year old Bergman in 2004 for Swedish television, condensed and edited into this form, and released on DVD by Criterion. Bergman discusses many of his best films (The Seventh Seal; Smiles on a Summer Night; Wild Strawberries; Persona; Fanny and Alexander; Cries and Whispers; Through the Glass Darkly), as well as his theater and television work in Sweden. He also cautiously wades into personal waters, including his 1976 arrest for tax evasion and subsequent move to Berlin, where he remained in semi-exile for eight years working in German theater; and his five marriages. Bergman fathered nine children (by six different women), and had numerous relationships with others (including actresses Liv Ullman, Harriet Andersson, and Bibi Andersson). Bergman is largely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history and has produced film that rank among the best ever produced. Always a bit of enigmatic figure, he resided (until his death in July of 2007) in virtual seclusion on the island of Faro for some forty plus years, isolated from the rest of the world, particularly in his latter years when he stopped making films. Bergman admits at one point to being what he understates as a “lazy family man”. When pressed, he admits (in obvious discomfort) that he inflicted untold pain on the wives and children he left, but gave up feeling guilty because it does not equate with the hurt he has caused. Though he reminisces about his early days as a director working for Sevensk Filmindustri and artistic director Victor Sjostrom, and not knowing what he was doing, and recounts various memories about experiences on particular sets, absent from the film is much in-depth conversation about the artistic process - editing, working with actors and crew (he used the same people for many films, including the brilliant cinematographer Sven Nyquist and actors Max Von Sydow; Bibi Andersson; and Ullman). While we observe him in his surroundings - by the ocean, his screening room, his specially built fireplace, he does discuss his childhood and his relationship with his mother and father, growing up in Stockholm in a strict household, bartering with his brother for his first camera, the influence of dreams on his work, writing, his fears and obsession with death, his love for music, nature, silence, the island, etc. A worthwhile experience for Bergman fans, and fans of cinema in general.