One of the greatest films ever made. Groundbreaking in its day. Phenomenal lead performance with a great supporting cast. An odyssey of the soul, of deep reflection, but with a much warmer resolution than other films of his dealing with the same existential questions. Incredibly original in execution. Spare but paradoxically full. Cinematography is extraordinary. Bergan was one of our most gifted filmakers and this ranks with his best.

Brilliantly meditating on the fear, ludicrousness, and beauty of the human experience, Ingmar Bergman masterfully builds on the legacy of The Seventh Seal with another atmospheric entry that suffers from queasy editing.

Bergman’s finest film, surpassed only by “Fanny And Alexander”.

Released at the beginning of what could easily be considered a golden age in the career of one of cinemas most revered figures, Wild Strawberries is one of Bergman’s most personal films, and as a result, one of his most affecting. It’s a road trip movie that follows the emotional journey of an old curmudgeon that seems at odds with everyone in his life, lamenting on past failures, heartbreaks and wasted opportunities. The film does occasionally suffer from Bergman’s heavy philosophising, where existential debates and longwinded intellectual diatribes take the place of actual conversation, but a lot is done to dissect and analyse our lead’s past and outlook on life, so that each discussion does play into some aspect of his insecurity. When he reaches the end of the line so to speak, you do get the sense that he’s learned a lot from his odyssey, but not in a cheesy or mawkish way, more that he’s accepted that he can’t change his past mistakes but he can come to terms with them, and realise that he doesn’t have to spend what time he has left being defined by them. Not a casual watch by any means, but in the extensive Bergman oeuvre, especially where the nature of the soul is concerned, its probably one of his most accessible.

É um filme fantástico, completamente existencialista no que a de essencial para os nossos questionamentos sobre a vida e a existência. É um longa que deve ser assistido diversas vezes ao longo da vida, para ter novas percepções, viva ao cinema realista, toda a minha ode a Ingmar Bergman, por essa conspícua obra de arte, que chega a ser quase um quadro impressionista.

This movie is hard to comment on. It follows something philosophically similar to Ikiru or A Christmas Carol but without the acts of redemption. He just contemplates his life story and is then at peace by the end. I'm just not sure what the redeeming quality was.

Definitely more bittersweet than most Bergman films. A coming of age movie, though not in a youthful sense. The movie shows from beginning to end how talking about your feelings can help everyone get a better sense of self. Many people ask how elderly people feel at the end of their lives and this movie directly addresses that. Thoughts of previous romances, regrets, and mistakes made in life. As usual, his films are very existential and religiously themed. Best to watch Bergman films alone. The ending will surely make you cry while smiling.

I watched Bergman during a university course and I was afraid to watch anything else since. Too absurd for me. But i am so glad i gave this a chance because it is a beautiful movie. The scenes flow so rhythmically and it makes you think about life.

Beautiful photos and peacful atmposphere cause this movie to be perfect for Bergman's psychological view on humanity. Sjostrom's reflection on his charakters' behaviour makes a person want to grab an old photo album and remember all the good things that happened to them in life

A crotchety doctor travels to Lund, Sweden, to receive an honorary degree. He is accompanied by his daughter-in-law and they encounter some hitchhikers. Along the journey, he contemplates the highs and lows of his own life. Very personal. Extremely profound. I still prefer Seventh Seal and Virgin Spring but this film is more touching. The opening dream segment is amazing. Recommended Inspired several of Woody Allen's films.

The story could have been told in a much more interesting way, the film was boring at parts but the acting was great

A somber and beautifully acted portrait of the past.

"Wild Strawberries" is a movie that explores growing old and alone in an honest and empathetic way. The movie's main character seems to be aware of his flaws and learning more about him is a fascinating journey. I do feel there are certain aspects of this film that haven't aged all that well, but for the most part, the themes are pretty timeless. I can see this movie being one of those that evolve as I get older considering the subject matter so it could be one worth revisiting as I inevitably get older. Overall, it tells its story in a unique way and explores the main character's psyche in an impressive style.

There are some real depressing philosophical ideas running through this film, but it is good to confront those demons occasionally. Bergman does so admirably.

After it started in very baroque its plot got some interesting moments with the onirics flashbacks. It's no a masterpiece just the kind of film that must be exist. 7/10

Enjoyed this Bergman classic which is a melancholic meditation on a lonely doctor's life. Infused with dreams, memories and present day interactions. It's a paen to youth, nature, love and family without being overly forced.

Very interesting, and I like it somewhat.

(a "you know so much, but you don't know anything" film review by Timothy J. Verret) I remember seeing WILD STRAWBERRIES the first time when I was maybe in my late 20s or early 30s. I had already grown accustomed to the marvelous majesty of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, but I'm afraid this film at that time was a little lost on me. Cut to me now, age 54, and I can honestly tell you that there is NOTHING lost on me about this film. I TOTALLY "get it" now and what I "get" is encapsulated in the line Sara delivers to the main character, Isak Borg, wherein she is holding up a mirror to Isak and says, "you know so much, but you don't know anything." Yes, indeed, do I EVER "get" that! Isak Borg is a doctor of much knowledge but also much disappointment and much loneliness. The film begins with Isak taking a trip to Stockholm to receive a medal of honor for this much knowledge. What he doesn't receive is much peace on the way to Stockholm by car, for he is treated to flashbacks and "flashforwards" that make him question who he really is minus this much knowledge. What he really is, as mentioned, is much disappointment and much loneliness. Victor Sjöström, a most definite favorite actor of Bergman ever since he saw Sjöström's THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE, plays Isak Borg, and this performance is wonderfully nuanced and wonderfully "naked." Borg flashbacks to the girl, Sara, he wished he had married. He flashbacks that he has not been kind at all to his son, Evald, or Evald's wife, Marriane, who accompanies Isak on his trip to Stockholm. These flashbacks collide with "flashforwards." One such as these was when Isak and Marianne picked up a husband-and-wife hitchhiker whose marriage was infused with humiliation and mean words, all taking place in the back seat of their car. It is Marianne who eventually stops the car to let these troubled souls out, but we know Isak wants them out, too, because they remind him of his humiliating and mean words spoken to his wife, Karin, who has passed away. There are also three young people they give a ride to, and they also are "flashforwards" but also flashbacks, because they remind Isak of his lost youth. WILD STRAWBERRIES has two (BOTH) dream sequences that are the sheer genius of Ingmar Bergman. Isak has a dream at the beginning of the film where he is walking down a deserted street with a blazing yellow sun (you can feel the heat, although the film is in black-and-white). He spots a clock tower that has no hands and an eventual meet-up with someone who has a smudged face and when touched crumbles and bleeds (blood? water? Jesus? ("one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water"-John 19:34). A horse-drawn carriage (never one of my favorite things) comes around the corner carrying a coffin that eventually falls to the ground and then a hand with the face of Isak protrudes out, attempting to pull him into the coffin. The other dream sequence midway through the film is Isak being tested for all his much knowledge, only to realize that this much knowledge has led him to "you know so much, but you don't know anything." If there is anything Isak comes to realize, it is that his life up until now has been resentments, coldness, and, yes, loneliness. In fact, it is the medical record from this testing that reveals Isak's diagnosis. And what is that diagnosis? Yep, you guessed it….loneliness! In fact, almost every character in the many Ingmar Bergman films I have seen have this same diagnosis of loneliness. I know for a fact it's my diagnosis. "You know so much, but you don't know anything." What does this really mean for all of us? It means, like Isak, we can know so much but not know anything. It means we can think we know so much but actually not know anything. This is such a struggle for the intellectual ones like Bergman and like myself. We have all this knowledge. We have our intellect, we have our words, we have our careers, and we even have our family and friends. But do we know anything about any of these things? Of course not! We don't really know what any of these things will mean in the end. We won't really know until the end if any of these things have meant anything. I have often been quoted as saying (or thinking): "I know God and yet I am still coming to know God. But, outside of knowing God, I don't know anything." I sure do try to know anything about anything, but I only know God and yet I am still coming to know God. The irony here is that there can be much freedom in admitting I don't know anything. I think I am going to lose something by admitting I don't know anything (can you relate?) but, in reality, I know EVERYTHING because I know FREEDOM! When I detach from anything, I have EVERYTHING which is I have FREEDOM! Writing this film review of WILD STRAWBERRIES made me think of a comment I received once from someone who was reading one of my Ingmar Bergman film reviews. The one commenting said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Your film reviews are too much of a love fest of Ingmar Bergman." I think this one commenting meant that as an insult, but I took it as a HUGE compliment! My film reviews of Ingmar Bergman's films ARE a love fest because I LOVE INGMAR BERGMAN'S FILMS! Should I be hesitant to "drip" this love fest all over these reviews I write about Ingmar Bergman's films? I want them to "drip" a love fest and, in fact, I want them to downright "bleed." My blog website here has the mission statement of "I'm gonna to need to bleed for God!" I still hold steadfast to that statement, but I also can have BOTH by "I'm gonna need to bleed for Ingmar Bergman!" Can't I? To close this film review out is the closing image of Isak in WILD STRAWBERRIES. Isak has received his medal of much knowledge and after such a long day of flashbacks and "flashforwards" of much disappointment and much loneliness, he is seen lying in his bed, quickly falling asleep, and he has a face of TOTAL peace. I think Isak has come to realize, like me, he has detached from anything, and he, like me, has EVERYTHING which is he, like me, NOW has FREEDOM!

21.06.2021 ---------

De todos os filmes da era antiga do Bergman esse e o Sétimo selo foram os que envelheceram melhor. Um filme poético e belo sobre os perigos de uma pessoa ser egoísta e ranzinza A única opinião negativa que faço é sobre a atuação da Ingrid Thulin que graças a Deus não atuou mais...