Author Topic: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon  (Read 75429 times)

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #420 on: March 31, 2011, 01:52:58 AM »
Wild Strawberries

Bergman, Bergman, Bergman...

All around me are Bergman fans.  I tried, I really did.  I watched Fanny and Alexander (twice), The Seventh Seal, Through A Glass Darkly, the first half of Winter Light (I’ll finish it someday)… I’m sorry, folks, they all bored me.  They were dry, unfunny and generally dull.  Watching a bunch of people looking for meaning without a clue—I see that everyday.  The portrayals of mental illness or angst didn’t really seem true to life for me.  So, just to appease Chardy, I agreed to watch Wild Strawberries.  But I don’t expect much from it.

Technical—5/5—Bergman is always a fine filmmaker, nothing to object to.  His actors are all great and his technique is good. 

Theme—5/5—As always, Bergman is thematically rich.  Wild Strawberries is about a man reflecting on what is important in life.  God was never present and science is significant, and he received a lot of honor.  And his life is empty.  What is wrong?  What is he missing?  Relationship, a real connection with others.  That’s a great theme.  Much better than no answer at all.  This reminds me strongly of Ikiru, without the Capra overlay.



Characters—5/5—But here is what Wild Strawberries has that other Bergman didn’t.  These characters are well portrayed and the development seems natural and powerful.  Victor Sjöström and Ingrid Thulin do especially exceptional work at portraying the aging doctor and his lonely daughter in law. 

Emotional—5/5—Most importantly, I felt for these characters.  Their quiet heartbreak is powerfully told and the realization of their mistakes and regret comes slowly upon them, allowing us to go on the doctor’s emotional road trip with him. 

Interest—4/5—This film grew on me.  At first, it seemed like other Bergman films I found uninteresting, but as I attached to the characters, I wanted more detail, more understanding of the struggles they were going through.

Tension—3/5—Not much in the way of tension, except how the doctor will react.  A very relational film and all the tension resides in how they act toward one another.



Ethics—5/5—A powerful ethical message, probably the most important of the films I’ve seen by Bergman.  Rather than focusing on what we cannot experience, Bergman shows us what we can, what really is significant in life. 

Personal—4/5—The older I get the more I appreciate the doctor’s position.  Sure, perhaps I’m correct in what I do, but that doesn’t make me right in relationship.  People are more important than ideals.  It is so hard to remember that.

Finally, a Bergman I appreciate and, actually, love.  I like this one better than Ikiru, actually.  It’ll make it, probably.


"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #421 on: March 31, 2011, 03:21:44 AM »
All around me are Bergman fans.  I tried, I really did.  I watched Fanny and Alexander (twice), The Seventh Seal, Through A Glass Darkly, the first half of Winter Light (I’ll finish it someday)… I’m sorry, folks, they all bored me.  They were dry, unfunny and generally dull.

Okay, I'm not even going to touch "dry" and "dull" because I've got my blood pressure to consider, but come on, Seventh Seal has some funny stuff in it.

I'm glad you like Wild Strawberries, though.  I don't think we'll make a Bergmanphile out of you, but there's some others you might appreciate.  For you, I think I would recommend Smiles of a Summer Night, Sawdust and Tinsel, and maybe Scenes from a Marriage (the theatrical version, not the long one).  And finish Winter Light, it seems like it could be right up your alley.

sdedalus

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #422 on: March 31, 2011, 04:46:14 AM »
The Seventh Seal is hilarious.
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Bondo

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #423 on: March 31, 2011, 08:22:44 AM »
The Seventh Seal is hilarious.

This is very much the case. I watched it for the first time about five years ago as my first Bergman without really knowing what to expect and was completely knocked for a loop at how funny it was and how it didn't feel dated (arguably when you make a period piece it should age well because it is already historic in the era it is made).

Wild Strawberries on the other hand. I think I've watched it twice and both times found it excruciatingly boring and impenetrable. It has scared me away from further exploration of Bergman.

1SO

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #424 on: March 31, 2011, 08:31:49 AM »
I have very much the same reaction to Bergman, and to me that includes Wild Strawberries. Scenes From a Marriage is long in its running time, but it's the one Bergman I could watch over and over and over and over.

I haven't seen Smiles of a Summer Night, but I've heard it's very accessible. Will probably be the next one I watch.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #425 on: March 31, 2011, 12:13:23 PM »
I was hoping that my love of Wild Strawberries might give me some bennie points from the Bergmanphiles, but I suppose my honest opinion of the other films was too much for them to bear.  Sorry. 

As far as The Seventh Seal, I must quote tinyholidays again: "Comedy is subjective."  The Seventh Seal isn't funny.  The Gods Must Be Crazy and the Emperor's New Groove are hilarious.  Take of that what you will.

I won't say that a person who doesn't like Bergman in general will like Wild Strawberries, although I have to say that's what Chardy said and was completely correct in my case.  But perhaps I will try a couple other Bergman films.  At least I need to finish Winter Light.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

MartinTeller

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #426 on: March 31, 2011, 12:33:43 PM »
The Gods Must Be Crazy [is] hilarious.

Yeah okay, we're on completely different pages, comedy-wise.

oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #427 on: March 31, 2011, 12:40:13 PM »
The Gods Must Be Crazy [is] hilarious.

Yeah okay, we're on completely different pages, comedy-wise.

On the other hand, I think that the more subtle comedy of The Man Without A Past was hilarious as well.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky

sdedalus

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #428 on: March 31, 2011, 01:35:51 PM »
See, I always figured The seventh Seal was Bergman for people who don't like Bergman, and Wild Strawberries was for people who'd probably like the rest of his stuff.  But that's just because The Seventh Seal is the only one of his I like.
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oldkid

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Re: Oldkid's Ultimately Cool (And Long) Top 100 Marathon
« Reply #429 on: March 31, 2011, 01:49:26 PM »
See, I always figured The seventh Seal was Bergman for people who don't like Bergman, and Wild Strawberries was for people who'd probably like the rest of his stuff.  But that's just because The Seventh Seal is the only one of his I like.

That's what I always understood, which is why I watched the Seventh Seal after my second time of watching Fanny and Alexander.  I mean, playing chess with Death is so cool, right?  And it did nothing for me.  I was really disappointed.
"It's not art unless it has the potential to be a disaster." Bansky