Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman Movie Review

Wild Strawberries by Ingmar Bergman - Movie Review Example In the movie, Isak Borg, the seventy eight year old physician, makes a journey back into his personal life, while he is in a journey by car to receive his jubilee doctorate. One of the most spectacular features of Wild Strawberries is the way Bergman portrays the tension and resolution in the life of the hero. "The most admirable feature of Wild Strawberries is Bergman's portrayal of tension and resolution in Borg's interior life. This is first done through skillful counterpointing of sound and scene, later through pictorial composition alone." (Scott, 1965, p 267). Whereas the overexposed shots provide the opening sequence of the movie the hideous whiteness, the use of the sound track achieves an original effect. Therefore, in a reflective analysis of the great movie by Ingmar Bergman it becomes lucid that it achieves significant artistic and technical success along with its success with a great story. The plot of the movie provides a tremendous treat to the audience and Bergman makes his mark as an excellent writer. Here, the major character Isak Borg, at the age of seventy eight, makes a stunning journey into his personal life which helps the audience in realizing essential facts regarding his life as a whole. The past events and experience of the character becomes part of the present and the whole story is reenacted in his memory. The journey he undertakes has an essential role in the self-realization of the character and he gradually gains insight into his own personality. The shortcomings in his life become obvious to Isak and he is able to rest peacefully after the jubilee festivities. The invigorating portrayal of the character as well as the captivating narration of the story by Bergman points to the success of the director. A careful analysis of the plot also helps one in realizing the skill of Bergman in writing as well as directing. "Isak Borg's search for peace and sel f knowledge takes the outer form of a journey through Sweden. He travels in a black, coffin-like car, which Bergman uses to suggest Isak's withdrawal from the world around him. Every time Isak spends out of his car, he in a sense steps into a world that challenges him to commitment. All of his experiences during the trip dramatize the existentialist view which is the film's philosophical core: that life is not a matter of merely being a spectator or submitting it to cold analysis." (Steene, 1968, p 71). Bergman is effective in presenting the essential transformation in the character of Isak who learns to be a human being concerned about the welfare of others as well as tp be a parent confronted by children. Therefore, the plot of the story is highly suggestive and the director's excellent use of the setting as well as the characters helps him depict the story in a highly effective and convincing way. In a profound analysis of the movie Wild Strawberries, the audience recognizes that it presents an essential Christian ethic which is symbolically suggested by Bergman and the journey undertaken by Isak suggests the pilgrimage of every faithful. Although there is no obvious link to Christian faith in the movie by Bergman, Wild Strawberries can clearly conceived as a symbolic pilgrimage which is a form of penance. It can be comprehended as a confessional drama in which the protagonist, Isak, goes