Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) poster & wallpaper
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Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Folke Sundquist ... see more see more... , Naima Wifstrand , Björn Bjelvenstam , Gunnel Broström , ??ke Fridell , Gertrud Fridh , Maud Hansson , Julian Kindahl , Gunnel Lindblom , Yngve Nordwall , Gio Petre , Sif Ruud , Gunnar Sjöberg , Per Sjöstrand , Max von Sydow , Goran Lundstrom

After exploring his disillusionment with religion in his previous films, Ingmar Bergman adopted a humanistic approach for this classic study in isolationism. Legendary Scandinavian director Victor Sjö... read more read more...ström stars as Isak Borg, an aging medical professor who reassesses his life while journeying to his former university to receive an honorary degree. Borg travels with his estranged daughter-in-law Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) and revisits many of the landmarks of his past, conjuring up memories of his family and of his onetime sweetheart Sara (Bibi Andersson). Returning to the present, he meets a teenage girl who resembles the long-departed Sara. She hitches a ride with the professor and Marianne, as do a ceaselessly bickering married couple. These new characters eventually become intertwined with Borg's hazy flashbacks and fantasies, as the old man recalls the disappointments and disillusionments that have left him cold and guilt-ridden, attributes emphasized when he encounters his equally cold and resentful son. Bookending Borg's odyssey of self-discovery are a series of symbolic images at the beginning of the film (a clock without hands, a man without a face) and a hauntingly beautiful finale, in which professor is beckoned back to the "perfect" world he left behind so many years earlier. This classic art movie remains one of Bergman's most accessible films and one of the most influential European art movies of its generation. Its intense focus on one man's thoughts, regrets, and memories set the tone for innumerable psychological character studies in its wake. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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20,716 ratings

Critics

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31 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Ingmar Bergman

Release Date: December 26, 1957

Keywords: road

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DVD Release Date: February 12, 2002

Stats: 1,325 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,325)

  • brooklynspo
    July 30, 2007
    brooklynspo
    Ingmar Bergman, 1918-2007
  • fb619846742
    June 8, 2011
    fb619846742
    Another absolute gem of a film from the great Ingmar Bergman, who this time takes a look at creeping death and how it starts to hit an accomplished medical professor (Victor Sjstrm) as he begins to accept the fact that the end of his life is near. While Bergman certainly takes hi... read mores time, the images he puts on screen are downright stifling and arresting, with superb dialogue to ease the story along. Sjstrm is magnificent in the lead role, and the film has a great sense of mystery and subtle horror to it that I for one was fascinated during the entire duration of it. The ending is also unexpected, which is a pleasant surprise, seeing I could totally see Bergman go for the ultra-depressing route, which isn't the case here.
  • blkbomb
    June 3, 2011
    blkbomb
    Wild Strawberries is a spin on Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol. Isak, who as a young man was described as a sensitive and nice person, now as an old man is described by his daughter-in-law as, "Tough as nails." He begins to realize through dreams and the people around hi... read morem that he has let his work corrupt him and make him selfish and greedy. Sounds a lot like Scrooge. He struggles with this realization and begins to make changes in his demeanor and how he acts. Ingmar Bergman is considered one of the best directors ever and for good reason. With Wild Strawberries he shows just how good why he is, with his always present techniques such as symbolism, which is always a huge part of his films.
  • bottcorecords1
    October 12, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    78 year old Dr. Isak Borg is receiving an honorary degree at Lund cathedral tomorrow, as he himself explains in the opening scene of "Wild Strawberries", a film by Ingmar Bergman. In the very same scene, he also claims "in our relations with other people we mainly discuss and ev... read morealuate their character and behavior, this is why I have withdrawn from nearly all so-called relations. This has made my old age rather lonely". It also doesn't help his isolation that he's a self-described "pedant". Rather than fly to Lund with his surly house keeper (and quite possibly, only friend), he chooses to drive the 14 hour trip with his daughter-in-law, a bluntly open woman who regards her "uncle" (as she calls him) as something of a fraud: a man whose benevolent exterior hides a selfish and ruthless old man. But why is Dr. Borg so cold and distant? As the film progresses, the doctor's past is revealed in a series of dreams and memories (and the line where one begins and the other ends is often blurred). The events that went into creating the loneliness of Dr. Borg's life are pulled back like the pedals of a flower.

    When confronted with the looming shadow of death, Dr. Borg doesn't recall his lifetime of dedication to humanitarian work but instead re-lives the longlost loves and regrets of his youth. When his brother stole his betrothed away, the first instance that really toughened up the naive young Isak. All of Dr. Borg's flashbacks and hallucinatory dreams are voyeuristic in nature. He calls out to his one-time fiance Sara, only to watch in silence the moment when, while picking wild strawberries, she's swept off her feet by his ne'er-do-well brother. Maybe it's all psychological, in that it comes from one of his most deep-seated humiliations at the hands of his wife, dead for nearly 20 years. Or maybe it's just part of his lineage, as it is with his 96 year old mother, who's only purpose in life is to deny her great grandchildren their inheritance by staying alive, and his son Evald, who hates his life so much his only desire in life is a quick death. Bergman fleshes out the life of Dr. Isak Borg while at the same time bringing us more intimately closer to the universal fear of death. How do we live our lives and what regrets linger long after the people we love have turned to dust? Wild Strawberries is somehow both haunting and warm; in the end, we can find comfort in ourselves if our happy memories out-number our bad.
  • flixsterman
    May 31, 2010
    flixsterman
    An aging physician relives the defining events and turning points of his life through a series of dreams and flashbacks. Bergman's masterpiece, one of many, is unambiguous and universally identifiable.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 14, 2010
    sanjurosamurai
    predictable bergman in style and temprement, while this film was slow it was probably the most interested ive been in a bergman film. not quite as epic as seventh seal but maybe more profound, this classic is simple but engaging. a classic and worth while film.
  • matertenebraum
    December 13, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Quite simply one of the very, very best movies I have ever seen. Saw it recently for the second time, some 5 years after seeing it for the first time. First time round I was the age and stage of the traveling youngsters and saw the world through their eyes. This time I could iden... read moretify more with the son and daughter-in-law characters with just as much conviction. The subtlety and sophistication of this movie defy description. It simply has to be seen to be believed. If you've never seen it, don't just sit there, go see the movie.
  • SirPant
    November 25, 2009
    SirPant
    Classic Bergman, reflecting on regret, loneliness and one's mortality. It's beautifully filmed, perfectly paced, wonderfully scripted and is one of the greatest 'Road trip' movies ever!
  • kiriyamakazou
    July 31, 2008
    kiriyamakazou
    Anyone who has ever felt a tinge of nostalgia or has sat down to reminisce will take something from this classic. Upbeat, hypnotic and simply beautiful Bergman utilises dream sequences as not only a symbolic device but also to represent memory, the past and the opinions of others... read more. The tale of a simple road trip is transformed into the Odyssey of the mind for one older gentleman and like Bergman's fellow master Kurosawa it presents all those fears and regrets of growing old as well as celebrating a well lived life. Don't let the "art house" tag put you off it's a tale most people will be able to relate to.
  • pier007
    January 19, 2008
    pier007
    Bergman constructs an intimate, cathartic, sad but hopeful examination of an old timer's last trip to redemption. moving and thought-provoking.

View All Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
July 9, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

An archetypal Ingmar Bergman film, and one of his best. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Mr. Bergman, being a poet with the camera, gets some grand, open, sensitive images, but he has not conveyed full clarity in this film. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 12, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

One of Ingmar Bergman's many masterpieces, this universal meditation on the meaning of life is extremely well-acted by Victor Sjostrom (also known as director) as ther aging professor. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
December 21, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's most memorable due to the heartfelt sterling performance by the seventy-something Victor Seastrom. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

One of Bergman's warmest, and therefore finest films. Full Review

Rich Cline
June 29, 2005
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

a masterpiece

Daniel Eagan
September 20, 2004
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International

Landmark Bergman

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 21, 2004
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

My favorite Ingmar Bergman film, without question. Full Review

Dan Jardine
September 2, 2003
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

A film of rare beauty and pain

John Esther
August 2, 2003
John Esther, Pasadena Weekly

Brilliant.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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