35. Bergman - A Year In A Life; movie review

BERGMAN - A YEAR IN A LIFE
Cert 15
117 mins
BBFC advice: Contains scenes of strong violence, self-harm

"History shows repeatedly that we forgive the great artists a lot when the result is so beautiful and the films and plays so magnificent.
"But it probably can't be achieved without that dark, twisted streak."
The words of actor and director Stefan Larsson best sum up the collision between the genius of Ingmar Bergman and his appalling behaviour.
Five wives, countless girlfriends and nine children could testify how they were pushed aside as he sought his own satisfaction.
And, as director John Landis states: "He may have been a schmuck. Who knows? But, man he has left this body of work that is forever."
Jane Magnusson has created a biopic worthy of one of the great names in cinema. It covers all of the bases of his work but doesn't hold back when examining his extreme personality traits.
The focus of Bergman - A Year in a Life is 1957 during which he directed two acclaimed films, The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries, and four plays.
In parallel, she chronicles his life from a difficult childhood punctuated by his father's brutality, through his work, relationships and finally to a lonely death.
She has found a wealth of previously unseen archive material, including Bergman at work, and conducted many interviews with those who knew him intimately or worked with him.
It concludes, unsurprisingly, that Bergman was a great, prolific genius but sets itself apart by the honest appraisal of a bully, compulsive liar and absent father.
And it reveals his Nazi party sympathies!
For fans of film and those with interest in 20th-century history, this is a riveting watch.

Reasons to watch: A thorough and absorbing biopic
Reasons to avoid: If you know nothing of Bergman's work

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? Bergman admitted that he was compulsively unfaithful, had five wives and many mistresses (including Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann) and nine children.

The final word. Jane Magnusson: "During the last three years I have been talking to Bergman’s co-workers. They paint a multi-coloured image of a great artist who could be very inspiring but also terrifying. A man who is super sensitive to sound, light, food, dreams, but not really to other people. A man who worked harder and faster than anyone else in the history of cinema."

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