In The Hour of the Wolf (1968), Ingmar Bergman (with a debatably poignant cynicism) draws the viewer into the mad mind of artist Johan Borg (Max von Sydow). As with many Bergman films, the plot itself is fairly straightforward: Borg, with his pregnant wife Alma (Liv Ullmann), vacation on a remote Swedish island while he slowly loses his grip on reality.
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A Pinhole of Light
The next film in our “Communicating Bergman” series is his 1978 film, Autumn Sonata. Echoing back to his chamber films of the early 1960’s, this film takes place over a period of one night and consists almost entirely of performances in close up of the two powerhouses, Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann. These two devastatingly depict the fractured relationship between the famous concert pianist Charlotte (Bergman) and her oft-ignored daughter, Eva (Ullmann).
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Bach on a Foreign Radio
One of the disappointing and unfortunate inevitabilities of being an Ingmar Bergman fan is the fact that he gets pigeonholed as nothing but “the depressing director”. To be fair, his films bend towards the melancholic side of the cinematic spectrum. Despite this however, it is always confusing for me to hear this because when I think of his films I see a bright, poignant beauty rather than depression. He was a man with a complicated but deep, passionate love for humanity and it is this foundation which is necessary for such deep philosophical and psychological excavation. The contrast between light and dark is necessary to balance out and emphasize both sides: the darker the dark, the lighter the light.
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Introduction to a Series: "Communicating Bergman"
The influence of Ingmar Bergman is pervasive. Though perhaps first praised internationally by many French critics and filmmakers--e.g. Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Eric Rohmer--his influence soon reach other international giants such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Satyajit Ray, Akira Kurosawa, and Federico Fellini. Additionally, one can find the influence in American filmmakers such as David Lynch, Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, and perhaps most explicitly Woody Allen.
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