Wild Strawberries (1957)

After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin

Top Rated Movies #154 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Victor Sjöström	...	Dr. Eberhard Isak Borg
Bibi Andersson	...	Sara
Ingrid Thulin	...	Marianne Borg
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Dr. Evald Borg
Jullan Kindahl	...	Agda
Folke Sundquist	...	Anders
Björn Bjelfvenstam	...	Viktor
Naima Wifstrand	...	Mrs. Borg - Isak's Mother
Gunnel Broström	...	Berit Alman
Gertrud Fridh	...	Karin Borg - Isak's wife
Sif Ruud	...	Aunt Olga
Gunnar Sjöberg	...	Sten Alman / The Examiner
Max von Sydow	...	Henrik Åkerman
Åke Fridell	...	Karin's lover
Yngve Nordwall	...	Uncle Aron

Storyline

With the exception of his elderly housekeeper Miss Agda who he treats almost like a surrogate platonic wife, widowed seventy-eight year old Dr. Isak Borg, a former medical doctor and professor, has retreated from any human contact, partly his own want but partly the decision of others who do not want to spend time with him because of his cold demeanor. He is traveling from his home in Stockholm to Lund to accept an honorary degree. Instead of flying as was the original plan, he decides to take the day long drive instead. Along for the ride is his daughter-in-law Marianne, who had been staying with him for the month but has now decided to go home. The many stops and encounters along the way make him reminisce about various parts of his life. Those stops which make him reminisce directly are at his childhood summer home, at the home of his equally emotionally cold mother, and at a gas station where the attendants praise him as a man for his work. But the lives of other people they ...

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Plot Keywords:

professor | nostalgia | dream | strawberry | aging | 

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Taglines:

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Shakespeare - The Tempest

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish Latin

Release Date:

22 June 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wild Strawberries

Filming Locations:

Lund Cathedral, Lund, Skåne län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cinematographer Gunnar Fischer says that several scenes had to be shot indoors due to Victor Sjöström's poor health. "We had to make some very bad back-projection in the car because we never knew if Victor would come back alive the next day." Nevertheless, as long as Victor was home by 5:15 P.M. each day, "and had his whiskey punctually, all went well."

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Goofs

The front license plate on the VW disappears when untying the rope.

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Quotes

Mrs. Alman: Just look at him measuring his strength with the youngsters, straining his flabby muscles to show off in front of that cute girl.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Creeping Terror (1994)

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Soundtracks

KUNGLIGA SOEDERMANLANDS REGEMENTES MARSCH
(uncredited)
Music by Carl Axel Lundvall

User Reviews

The only reality

A gorgeous movie about memory and hope. A trip and a form of catharsis. It is not a story of an old man who discovers images of his past, about a marital crisis or some teenagers. It is not a confession. It is a mirror. The same crisis is the "gift" of everybody. The same silence, fear and desire are the refuge of a man, a woman, a n American or Irakian. At a moment, at a single moment, you discover your past like only reality. Like your real skin, your only voice, your essential eye. It is not strange. We are the fruits of some experiences. Some books, some people, a family, a child or a wife are the Ganymedes of our hours, our evolution, our death. Our freedom, our gestures, our smile are the trees of their presence. Isak Borg is the image of a age. Our age who grow-up in the noise of every day. The isolation is only way to be yourself. The way to Lund, the relation with Agda, the empty attitude, the projection in Evald, the words are the symbols of a clock who is seed of our conscience. Childhood is only reality of our life.