At the beginning of the film, Chris and Tony have a lot in common: they are happily married and raising a daughter, both filmmakers and Bergman fans. In search of inspiration, the couple arrives on the island of Foryo, where Ingmar Bergman himself once lived and filmed.
An ardent fan of the Swedish director’s films, Tony (whose latest film was received with enthusiasm) feels a creative passion and is passionate about his new script, interspersing with visits to excursions and meetings while his wife is in a writer’s stupor and can not find a place.
Once on the island and talking to experts, Chris begins to ask questions about the life and work of the Swedish author, finding in this a stumbling block with her husband, for whom successful creative implementation fully justifies the complex (and sometimes dubious) image of the creator.
In progressive melancholy, the woman still takes up the pen, and her new story about a young director, reliving a long-extinct novel, becomes the second, parallel plot of the film, blurring the lines between the real and the fictional.
The director of the film, Mia Hansen-Löw knows firsthand what he is shooting about: at the time of the creation of the tape, she was married to Olivier Assayas, awarded for ' Personal Buyer'.
In ' Bergman Island' she raises issues of autonomy and rivalry in creative union, unequal sacrifices for female creators and male creators. Chris feels like a shadow of a successful husband and feels the pain of conscience when he cannot devote himself to the work process with the same zeal as his spouse. And the latter seems more intimate with Bergman than with his wife.
Against the backdrop of the unfolding marital crisis - the pacifying landscapes of Sweden and loopholes in the life of a long-dead genius - a real feast for yearning cinephiles.
Sam ' Bergman Island' - measured, melancholy, perfect for viewing a lonely evening. If you have not watched any of Bergman's films - no problem, the film is a great help in broadening your horizons.
Unfortunately, no catharsis in history does not happen: the author boldly cuts off the tape in the middle of a word, leaving the viewer puzzled.
6 out of 10
The filmmaker Chris, in appearance, everything is fine - she has the same sinophile-cinematographer husband (a little pervert, but in a good way), daughter, favorite business and Bergman. Her husband also has Bergman, so they come to create in a protected area of the Swedish master - on the island of Fore.
We got here, and there's Bergman. Not personally, but invisibly: Bergman is twisted in a projection room near their home ("Something cute) “And here you, dear ones, “Whispers and Screams”, about death and alienation, a pleasant evening!”, old women from different Bergman funds eagerly chat about him, a bus with a Bergman safari tour rides along the way, and a student-filmist accidentally met tells how Bergman his grandmother in a Hamil supermarket. Even the bed they sleep on was featured in Scenes from Married Life. Here Bergman's spirit, here Bergman smells: Bergman beach, Bergman's burger (joke, but it's not accurate), Bergman's house, Bergman's grave. Bergman is our helmsman.
And it's done beautifully, and the actors are good, and overall the film doesn't seem silly, but it's a bit about nothing. The creative process of the main character takes place 99% in her head, and we see, on the one hand, only her woven eyebrows and the final product on the other. It is impossible to penetrate her as a character, and without this it is not interesting to watch the story. Her husband played by Tim Roth and it seems more convex - with him there are several scenes, thanks to which he becomes like a man. Normal such a middle-aged man, with a slight craving for BDSM, intellectual and a little stifled, but an excellent family man.
The backstory - the film Chris conceived - brings things a little bit to life, otherwise the film just wouldn't have reached the full meter. But there are even less cute characters and really no completed plot, so the question remains what it was and why.
Disclaimer. While filming and watching the film, no Bergman was injured.
Spectacle for Sinefils of Sinefils in Sinefil Swedish Mecca
In search of inspiration, the writers come to the island of Foryo, where the great Ingmar Bergman lived and died. That's it, because for the next two hours, Mia Hansen-Lev sends the heroes to wander along the shore and talk. The characters of Tim Roth and Vicky Chris reinterpret “Scenes from Married Life” and argue a lot about Bergman’s personality, but as usual, their differences intensify every day, and as a result, the views on marriage and creative methods become diametrically opposed.
“If ‘Scenes from Married Life’ is at key turning points in the history of a single marriage, then ‘Bergman Island’ shows what happens between the series.”
Only here’s the trouble – the dialogues of these “backstage sketches” do not catch on at all. Yes, there are many references to the filmography of Bergman and to the biography of the director herself, reflection on the high too, at least, but somehow everything is wrong. The elegance of the form with a bizarre structure of double reality and the skill of the operator who managed to capture the enveloping haze of the cold sun barely save the picture, and whether it is worth watching Bergman Island for this, it is up to you.
For whom?
What about Bergman Island? Is this a tribute to the great director, or is it his exposure? It is difficult to answer unequivocally, but his aura is one of the characters, imperceptible, but creating the main problem of the film, ask the main character.
Despite the fact that the discussion about the human and creative qualities of Bergman unfolds more or less throughout the film, it can be perfectly summed up in one phrase, from which the sarcastic but concise shot at all his fans and decipherers of the great director’s work shines, the phrase following a small discussion, said with a clever look and intonation: “He could say so, but not the fact that this is a trilogy” – each side nods approvingly and notes the faithfulness of this statement, without noticing that they are only the object of us. It seems that all unquestioningly admire the work of Bergman, but only the main character sees in him something terrible and even inhumane – in order to understand this conflict, you do not even need to watch his films, because fans speak much louder and clearer. There are many references to Bergman’s films, and the flow of neumdrop, opinions and discussions at the beginning is just knocking off your feet, but all this is not so important – the main thing is to understand the essence that they are trying to convey to the viewer.
This essence lies precisely in the fact that Ingmar Bergman was turned on art, on his productions and thoughts. He was gloomy and cruel, going into his worlds with his head, not having time to pay attention to family and real life. On the one hand, he is an absolute genius. On the other hand, cold and insensitive to their loved ones. Chris would like to live, have many children and love everything around her, she would like to write life-affirming scripts and such a manic separation of life and work is simply not clear to her. In spite of everything, she still loves him as a creator: either he is a refuge of her soul, or inexplicably attracts his depressive plot.
Still, this movie is about another: about the relationship between two directors, in which the main character is experiencing a great crisis and depression. This is somewhat reminiscent of Marriage Story: he is firm, ambitious and much more successful than his wife; she is much more sentimental, lives in her husband’s shadow and suffers from a lack of intimacy, both emotional and physical; the whole film is a vivid contrast between him and her. And although outwardly their couple looks quite happy and organic, in fact, the two directors are unlikely to make a happy marriage: someone will always pull the blanket on themselves, try to make the other part of their production.
It’s clear that Bergman Island is largely autobiographical, and Mia Hansen-Löw comes up with a director, Chris, adds some personal issues around her, and gives her a mouthpiece to talk about things that matter to her. But what's Chris doing? She, as befits a director, comes up with a script on which she projects her own problems, which she tells her husband, hoping that this will somehow affect him: here it is Tim Roth’s hero who makes a clear separation, not allowing his wife to swallow him with her head, similarly the events develop in the story of Vicky Crips. The movie's inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point, Chris’ character Amy started writing something of her own. In general, “an author who has an author who has an author” – Charlie Kaufman would appreciate this approach.
Mia Hansen-Leuve showed great, boring caution, and because of this, the whole film should pay attention to all sorts of symbols and metaphors, such as a house that has only been rebuilt with a facade: if the hero of Tim Roth knows that this house does not exist and in fact never was, then the heroine Vicki Krips makes a whole journey, making a long way not only on Bergman Island, but also deep inside itself, to discover with perplexity that there is no house there, and moreover, never was. But when the actor and the author move away from each other to a sufficient level of recursion, the drama begins more serious, more addictive and catchy - about failed love, about the ghosts of the past and the same ghostly hopes, about mistakes from which you do not learn. Amy is still suffering for her first love, and he seems to be caring, but old enough to distinguish between past, present and future.
Chris can't write the end of the story - because the story obviously doesn't have an end yet and it's being written right now while Vicky Crips tells Tim Roth her script, because, overall, it's clear who is who and who is projecting on whom. The plot as a bright wrapper is not particularly catchy, but acts on a deeper emotional level, awakening the viewer’s anxiety for the heroine. She struggles in a sense with the devil himself - Bergman, who seeks to suck out of her all tenderness, dreaminess and cheerfulness. It is about this film: about the struggle of life against the all-consuming cold of the universe, about how the first has no chance of victory, but has its own moment of glory, the moment of triumph of the “victory of the heart over the mind”. In such conditions, the escapism to which the heroines of the picture resort is like a saving circle, a wall behind which you can hide, but which, however, is not durable. On the connections that go through all levels of the script, down to reality, a real drama is built, which, however, is difficult to see and feel due to the great allegory.
Bergman Island is not a movie for fun. Only if entertainment for you is not the study of every frame and careful reflection of all artistic tropes. The last 15 minutes in this regard are very surprising, in one banal and extremely controversial move confusing everything at times, turning Chris’ catharsis into a real puzzle. The heroine went to bed. Or is she awake? Or neither? There is probably both a trivial explanation of what is happening and the right one. It is possible that they coincide, but from this the aftertaste of the picture does not become either brighter or bitterer. The question is not even in understanding what happened, but in interpreting and evaluating these events. One thing is clear: how many times do not leave Bergman Island, the characters know perfectly well how they will return here, whether they are 25, 35 or all 60 years old.
8 out of 10
' Bergman Island' is a feminist picture. But not aggressively combative, but sadly philosophical.
Director and screenwriter ' Bergman Islands' - Mia Hansen-Löwe - is the daughter of two philosophy professors. After watching this film and learning this fact, it becomes clear why this picture has so much meaning and quiet comprehension of reality.
' Bergman Island' is an analysis of a woman's position in the family and at work. Heroes discuss with each other the fact that the famous Ingmar Bergman had nine children. And the main character of the film rightly notes that this is possible only for men - to have children at the same time from different lovers and at the same time freely build a career, not devoting themselves to caring for their offspring. . .
Women and men are not equal. No matter how loudly stated in recent years to the contrary, it is not true. ' Bergman Island' doesn't scream. He sighs sadly about it. How good it is to be a man and how bad it is to be a woman. . .
This film, which has great actors (Vicky Crips, Tim Roth and Mia Wasikowska), there are beautiful pitchforks of the island of Foreo (which will undoubtedly make you want to visit there yourself), there is admiration for the cinema in general and the work of Ingmar Bergman in particular. But to call this picture mandatory to view can be difficult. The main idea of this film is too simple. Too simple... Although, perhaps, for someone this film will be a revelation, because in movie characters we often recognize ourselves and manage to recognize our own hidden problems and desires. But one thing is for sure - ' Bergman Island' will arouse a burning interest in you to get acquainted with the films of the great Ingmar Bergman!
5 IS 10
This film was directed by Frenchwoman Mia Hansen-Lev. By her own admission, she wanted to try to connect her fantasies and knowledge about the work of the famous Swede with reality, and the result was a semi-documentary tape, semi-artistic. But in any case, an unusual job.
Bergman Island is good because it causes an irresistible desire to get acquainted with the work of the great director closer. This is an unusual plot construction (the film in the film), touching Bergman’s works on the tangent, beautiful landscapes and subtle psychologicalism.
Special attention deserves the island of Foryo, where the great master lived, died and shot some of his best works. The island itself is the actor, it has its own energy and it affects the characters of the film.
A large number of pilgrims come to Foryo - someone is looking for inspiration, someone - solitude, someone - new acquaintances. But one thing is clear: everyone leaves the place a little different, including a couple of directors (played by Vicky Crips and Tim Roth). Personally, I enjoyed watching just their relationship, although in the film there is a love line between Amy (Mia Wasikowska) and Joseph (Anders Danielsen Lieu).
In many ways, for me, the acting core in principle was Tim Roth.
The film is interesting for its atmosphere, non-standard storyline, illustration of cult places for connoisseurs of Swedish art. I would rather like it for connoisseurs and connoisseurs. I recommend watching this movie to broaden your horizons.
About the premiere of the film “Bergman Island” was not said much in Russia, because the figure of Bergman is very popular abroad. This film is left in the shadow of the new Spider-Man and resurrected from the ashes of the Matrix, behind the shadow of cinematic monsters of the 21st century. But for people interested in the film industry, such a novelty could not be missed. Mia Hansen-Löw's filmography can be seen on your fingers and really worthwhile pictures are quite small to understand this director. A few awards for past films and finally something worthwhile comes out that brings us closer to Mia's insides but distances us from understanding Bergman. Bergman Island is an eccentric and ambiguous film, with constant metaphors and a fresh taste of the great director who influenced the creation of the film.
The plot of the film is quite simple: a couple of directors come to the homeland of the brilliant director of all time, where Ingmar Bergman spent his whole life. They are faced with the task of gaining inspiration and finally completing their plays, but gradually they are in creative fiction, and reality begins to erase. The couple gets lost in their plots and begins to live like heroes from the pages of their plays. This film is static, actions are very rare, the film is like a viscous caramel mass, which is difficult to chew, and do not want to chew for a long time. This is just an interval in the work of married life, which gradually includes literary ghosts. Throughout the film, the main characters walk around the island and gradually drown in the sands of Bergman, which absorb them more and more with each view of his films.
I saw Vicky Crips in the lead role for the first time, although I saw quite a lot in episodic roles. Never considered her a skilled actress in the field of psychology and creating a strong emotional background. This movie didn’t change my opinion of her. She's still the same ghost that hides behind stronger actors. Tim Roth devours her with his unbridled acting, in which every kick of the earth already evokes a response. I did not expect to see the aged Tim Roth in films at the end of the year, but he succeeded in the role of a filmmaker who is constantly in himself. The film would not have drawn the viewer to its origins if there was only nature, without the second component - Tim Roth, this film would be a program about Sweden and its islands, without a sharp presenter and an abundance of facts. There are very few of them in this movie...
The juiciness of the frames and the abundance of light fascinate the mind and watch the change of the landscape is much more interesting than watching the creative torments of the main character. Foryo Island itself has a strong energy and forces our eyes to look at the Swedish expanses and strong sea surfs. In the shadow of this bath of natural madness, the phrases of filmmakers slip glimpses, the naked legs of the main character run glimpses, as if ghosts who were never given the opportunity to go free.
The very title of the film pushes the viewer to view a holiday card dedicated to Ingmar, but with every second you see, you realize that this is not true. In fact, Hansen-Löw does not paint homage to a film genius, but creates a layered dress to separate the female perception of the world in art from the brute force of a male creator. Slowly cultivating a woman’s envy of her husband’s creative success is the only natural accelerator of this film that helps to delve into the creative space of two completely different people under the same roof.
Throughout the film, the idea runs that two creators cannot get along in the same house, their plots collide and turn their lives into Bergman’s marital scenes. Maybe many people will not agree with me, but I did not have an easy view of this picture and it is not at all that the semantic load is large, there is no such thing here. Around the characters, the atmosphere of despair, everyday life and long-extinct relationships begins to gradually stifle and only after the credits it is possible to get a breath of air. Films with such an atmosphere are too many to allocate this film at least tenth place.
If you watch something for a long time, it will be interesting, unfortunately, this film is not about that. Interest with every minute is not added, half-sleeping state, as it appeared at the beginning of the film, and remained. If you are not yet familiar with the work of Bergman, then you should not start with this picture and certainly not end your acquaintance with him. Mia does not give a hint to the inner state of the brilliant director, she only repeats the phrases that are already familiar to everyone, which make her nauseous at the end. She wrote about herself, but never had time to find the ending. And the viewer was left with a ghostly, barely perceptible suffocating ending. The viewer is left with a viscous aftertaste of bitter ellipsis, which will not soon disappear.
5 out of 10
Where is it, a good place to be inspired? Many people of creative professions constantly ask themselves this question, and tirelessly look for a cozy corner on Earth, preferably located away from civilization and pesky eyes. So the director of Bergman Island, Frenchwoman Mia Hansen-Löw hatched the idea for this film for a long time, until she received an invitation to the annual Bergman festival, held in June on the Swedish island of Forø. He lived here for a long time, and then Ingmar Bergman was buried. Mia already had the skeleton of the script, but it lacked some inner spirit, as she later admitted. That catchy atmosphere. And after the trip to Foryo, her puzzle came together.
You can even say that this is a film about her, a kind of film in the film, where you feel a keen tribute to the work of Bergman, but at the same time, clearly traced all the heavy burden of a woman director. Bergman Island tells the story of an American married couple. They go to Foreo to retire to Bergman's house and write new scripts. And if the husband easily manages to maneuver between rest, safari in the places of Bergman, public speaking and work, then the wife is the opposite. She's in a creative crisis. The script is dead weight and there is no enlightenment. The island is crushed by the greatness of the late director, and in such conditions it is difficult for her to find the right words not to be called an idiot.
This is a film for creative people. It will certainly be boring and misunderstood by the masses. A ghost film where reality is mixed with what is written, but in the finale gives hope, not heavy consequences. Heroes spend the night in the bedroom, where the famous “Scenes from married life” were filmed, because of which hundreds of thousands of divorces occurred in the world. But the thought of it only feeds their minds, and at a certain point gives the right push to overcome the obstacle. Heroes come to life. The island is calling. Truly, the great work of the entire film crew, which I want to continue to create.
This is actually a subtle, intelligent, truly sinophile film with a masterful interweaving of life of earthly and sublime, fiction and reality, the heat of passion and the coolness of alienation. Bergman is not here for the attention of the audience. He is a full participant in the process. His spirit invisibly hovers not only on Fore, enveloping the minds and hearts of the characters of the film, but also, perhaps, those who will watch it.
I think you have to love movies, you have to appreciate Ingmar Bergman and his legacy to make films like this. Does the viewer need a deep knowledge of the work of the brilliant Swede? No, not at all. But I still tend to think that familiarity with his work will be a significant plus. The more so that Hansen-Lev spreads a number of references and so-called Easter eggs to the Bergman films. Repeatedly, by the way, it is mentioned throughout the narrative that the attitude of the Swedes themselves to Bergman is very ambiguous.
Rarely do I recommend reading a director’s interview about his work before watching it for a better understanding of the material. Usually, in my opinion, everything that is necessary should be expressed on the screen. Mia herself, by the way, came to the industry, collaborating with Olivier Assayas, which in itself is also a good school of excellence. She would later marry Olivier and give him a daughter, but that’s another story.
Director Ingmar Bergman is a national treasure of Sweden. Judge for yourself - four Oscars, awards from European festivals, sixty films, world recognition as the greatest creator, and nine children from six women. Bergman is quoted by modern directors - for many he is an idol and an idol. And even those who dislike the Swede – forced to admit – Bergman enriched the film language.
But why don't they like Bergman? To reflect on this suggests the author of the film “Bergman Island”. This is a feature film that was presented at the Cannes Festival this year. The film is decided in an unusual genre, in it the real biography of the artist is woven into the feature film.
On the island of Foryo, where Bergman lived and worked, a couple of filmmakers come. The man's name is Tony, he's played by Tim Roth, and he's a fan of the Swedish director. Tony does not care much about the dark spots in Bergman’s biography, he just loves Ingmar’s films and wants to feel more deeply the place where the author significant to him worked.
For Chris, she was played by Vicky Crips, Bergman's personality is different. She also loves the films of the Swede, but only admits that the work of Ingmar does not bring her any comfort, but only leads to confusion.
The couple settles in the house where Bergman filmed his film “Scenes from married life”, after which, according to the manager, many couples divorced. Tony and Chris will enjoy Swedish nature and also try to work on the island – both of them are creative people, and Chris has a writer’s stupor – she can’t finish the script.
The first question that the reader will ask is whether it is necessary to watch this film for those who do not know anything about Bergman. Still, the Swede made his main films in the 60-70s and many of them have not watched. The answer is mixed. On the one hand, fans of creativity will definitely be happy to walk around the island. The film is a real excursion, there are places where Bergman’s films are filmed, and objects related to the director – after watching it, you will feel that you were taken to the island of Foreo and showed all the most interesting things that are there. In addition, some shots quote Bergman's films - it is difficult not to notice the multiple references to one of his most famous films - "Persona".
For those who do not know anything about the director, some moments may seem incomprehensible, on the other hand, the film can push to view at least a few works of Bergman, inside the “Island” sewn film screenings and discussions of films of the Swede. You can also get aesthetic pleasure - the northern nature of the island is accompanied by beautiful discreet music.
Nothing really happens in the film. It’s just the life of two creative people. Tony and Chris watch Bergman's films, discuss the director's work, visit sights and walk around the island. Local, by the way, tourists do not like, endless pilgrims asking about Bergman, tired of the islanders.
The director's identity is served here without embellishment. In 2018, the Swedish documentary “Bergman” (Ett ar, ett liv) was released, in which an attempt is made to comprehend the complex figure of the director – a genius on one side and an unpleasant person on the other. Bergman devoted himself entirely to cinema, while neglecting the needs of family and children, as he himself admitted in an interview. In addition, the director was not averse to tease people, pretending to make a movie about himself, but in fact – inventing facts of biography.
Bergman’s excessive dramatization of his life is also discussed in Bergman Island, when one of the island’s guests says “To hell with Bergman.”
But in addition to discussing the personality of the director, in Bergman Island there is another film inside the film - viewers are shown how Chris creates his own work from improvised material. She writes a love story and puts into it what she saw on the island.
Unlike many of Bergman’s works, Bergman Island was not heavy, but light and even carefree. It seems that the heroes of this film will go well.
Tell me, Professor, why did you get involved in this story? Why do you need the Zone?
- I'm a scientist in a way. Why would you? Fashion writer. Women probably hang themselves around their necks.
- Inspiration, Professor, lost. I'm going to beg.
- So, what are you doing here?
- What? Yeah, I guess in a way. . .
'Stalker', 1979, dir. A. Tarkovsky
Inspiration for the creative person that water is swallowed. Lost, and you're gone. Totally gone. You can't. Not capable. Unpowered. Zero without a stick. Crushed. Washed ashore like fish. You choke, writhing in agony. Help me! Help me! The muse, this windy devil, walked around somewhere. I quit. I left. I left nothing. What about? What about now? Where to find her? The writer, Andrei Tarkovsky, was forced to go to the Zone for fishing. To cheer myself up. The emotional background is to restore. And so, to breathe in fear, to pick, move, wake up ...
' Bergman Island' is about lost inspiration. About the same muse that forgot the way to the usual hearth. She always came, and then suddenly changed, and the eye does not smell. A married couple, filmmakers, come to the patrimony of the Swedish master. In 2007, the patriarch of cinema died on this island, but ' folk' the trail on Foryo does not grow. Not surprisingly, more than two decades lived here, created, filmed the author ' Persons', ' Earthly glade', ' Seventh seal', 'Whispers and screams'... A cult place, breathing frozen frames of work, is capable of atmosphere, glorify any seeker. I did. Wandered. You've been breathing and you're fine.
A picture where biographical intersperses about the master are reflections on the path of the light. A picture where the master's tapes are in the roll call of flashback memories. And the frozen trapezoids of silent images that once gave shelter, warmth, comfort, gave entertainment. He, the master, is gone, and the things, here they are. They're still alive.
The Bergman Zone is the answer to the Tarkovsky Zone.
Did the Writer and the Professor find inspiration 39; did the same Writer and Professor feel the burden of space on their shoulders? When they return, are they better, better, and smarter? Andrey Arsenyevich left this question open to us, the audience. The guide, Stalker, laments and at the very end throws angry tirades at them while at home, in the peace of the hearth. It's more and more obvious here. It's smoothed out. Both Chris and Tony get what they're looking for. Creative impulse, they fountain again. The director visualizes the story in the spirit of Scandinavian genius - the plot is invented, meaningful, decided in the style of a love drama. Well? So they're healed. So you've seen it. Yay! The medicine worked. The place of power dispelled fatigue to sleep.
However, inspiration is only one of the threads of this work. Issues of marriage, family structure, interpersonal relations are touched upon by the author. Slippery. It's a mess. No pedal press to the floor.
Author's film for the aesthetic audience. Ingmar Bergman - an earthly bow from admirers of talent.