Many people have asked me what it is about Ingmar Bergman and his films that I love so much and I never really answer the question. Not for lack of an answer. Not because I'm surprised someone would ask...or am I?
There are few directors who have made as many great films as Ingmar Bergman. (For brevity's sake, I won't be delving into individual films, but have offered a "recommended list" at the end of the post.) Bergman's sustained level of excellence over the course of a long career is also quite remarkable, and puts him in the company of only a few directors with an oeuvre as impressive. As a proponent of the auteur theory, I have a much greater appreciation for directors as artists, and not just hired hands. And Bergman is the paragon of auteurism. I also have an appreciation for literature, and Ingmar Bergman the writer was an exceptional talent. I have read several of his scripts, and they are indeed works of art in their own right.
And personally, I relate to his characters: their humanity, their frailty. I have a shared understanding and connection to the fears and doubts he had, the demons he wrestled with his whole life. I certainly don't pretend that these are not, in most instances, universal fears and doubts. We all struggle at some point in our lives with death and our own mortality. And a lot of people struggle with doubt over whether God exists. Bergman was certainly not the first tortured artist, and certainly not the first to bare his soul through his work. But there are other psychological explorations and themes he delved into where few (if any) directors dared to go. And it's this daring, this unflinching gaze into the depths of the human psyche, and the skill for which he translates them, that I admire most. His films are austere. They are difficult to watch, sure. But think about the greatest literary works. How many classic novels are happy, joyous romps? Are they not filled with tremendous suffering and great tragedy? Bergman was the first great film artist, the first to put film into the same conversation with literature and art. And only a few have joined him.
Yes, I have many reasons why I love his films, and I often wonder...why don't people like Ingmar Bergman?
Recommended films (listed chronologically):
Smiles of a Summer's Night (1955)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Seventh Seal (1957)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
Winter Light (1963)
Persona (1966)
Cries and Whispers (1973)
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Autumn Sonata (1978)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
