Wilder Than Wild Strawberries.

Name of Film: Wild Strawberries (1957)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Origin and Release Year: Sweden (1957)

Starring or score: 6/10

Genre: Drama

Wild Strawberries is a transcendent Swedish film, directed by Ingmar Bergman and released in 1957. It stars Victor Sjöström and his journey through past-filled present. The film raises whether it is possible to obscure the lines between reality and memory.

This film follows seventy-eight-year-old Isak Borg, a former doctor and widow, as he travels to Lund with his daughter-in-law Marianne (played by Ingrid Thulin). He passes through familiar territory and reminisces about his past in each of those locales.

The main theme is the questioning of existence. We explore conflict with society’s narrative as it teaches viewers to question and oppose what society deems as normal, by showing characters countering these ideologies through dialogue. This obscures the lines between present and past beliefs. It also allows the viewer to explore the idea of the past influencing the present through juxtaposing the two on screen. For example, Bergman shows Dr. Borg in shot with the memories of his past and raises a reality where he has not moved on.

The film, shot in black and white, uses classical Hollywood aesthetic. However, it still breaks conventions by disrupting continuity. The most striking visual aspects had to do with composition and editing, especially in scenes where the present gets muddled with past dreams and memories. This leads the audience to slight confusion and exploration of time. This is opposed to a heavy focus on editing so that there is a more set narrative.

I found the film interesting but simultaneously boring. The lack of narrative acted as a challenge for me and has me on the fence about whether I enjoyed the film or not. However, given the obscurity between past and present, it becomes a good exercise regarding the relativity of time and will leave the viewer with an overwhelmingly good sense of nostalgia and clarity of the present.

What did you think of Wild Strawberries?