Ingmar Bergman, portrayer of inner
Ingmar Bergman, one of the most distinguished filmmakers of his generation whose melancholic work is often tough-to-digest but celebrated, still captivates audiences as much as he puts off his critics.
Yesterday, July 14 was his 100th birthday.
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, north of Stockholm, Bergman directed some 60 movies between 1946 and 2003, including “Cries and Whispers” (1972), “Scenes from a Marriage” (1974), “Autumn Sonata” (1978) and his trademark film “Fanny and Alexander” (1982).
He died 11 years ago aged 89 in his home in Faro, a small island in the Baltic Sea whose coast is strewn with distinctly shaped limestone rocks and shrubland, where his disturbing film “Persona” (1966) was set.
The son of a Lutheran priest, Bergman remains the most distinguished portrayer of torments, fantasies, madness and marital infidelity.
“The essence of our education was based on the principles of sin, confession, punishment, redemption and forgiveness,” Bergman wrote in his autobiography “The Magic Lantern.”
Throughout his career, with his debut film “Crisis” to final “Saraband,” the gifted director was known for having relationships with his actresses whom he filmed masterfully.
He abhorred death and depicted its themes painfully by creating a tense metaphysical atmosphere where God is powerful yet absent, leaving the characters alone in the world with a troubled conscience between cries and whispers.
“Ingmar drew heavily on his past experiences ... in a way, he stayed in the first 10 years of his life,” costume designer and Bergman’s former daughter-in-law Anna Bergman said.
His international breakthrough began in the 1950s with global audiences seduced by “Scandinavian Exoticism” with its barbaric language, frank women, wild landscapes and bewildering “natural” representation of nudity which also triggered scandals.
“He is often associated abroad with his dark, black-and-white, slow-paced, tightshot films, but that’s only part of his truth,” Anna Bergman said.
She said Swedes prefer to watch “Fanny and Alexander,” which portrays the tragic life of a family through the eyes of two children.
The film is shown every year at Christmas on Swedish television. The filmmaker’s dark themes didn’t always fit into the societal changes in his country.
“Bergman’s career coincides with the development of the Swedish welfare state ... Sweden experiences an exceptional political, social and economic boom during the 1940s, 50s and 60s,” said Jan Holmberg,