Searching for Ingmar Bergman

Critically acclaimed German director Margarethe von Trotta works both behind and in front of the camera for this richly impressionistic documentary portrait of one of the true giants of world cinema, the late Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007). Blending archival footage of Bergman directing actors in such masterworks as Fanny and Alexander (1982) and Persona (1966) with more recent interviews with longtime collaborators (including Liv Ullmann, who is also the mother of one of Bergman’s nine children), various contemporary filmmakers (Carlos Saura, Olivier Assayas), and two of Bergman’s sons, a compelling view emerges of the great man’s complexity as an artist and patriarch. Generous clips from such Bergman classics as The Seventh Seal (1957) and Wild Strawberries (1957) are mixed with comments about his virtues and flaws as a father and partner. Bergman’s self-exile from Sweden for a period (and the dark films he made during that time), as well as his side career as a director of theater, are also covered extensively. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)