Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 2:
SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN
Director:
Margarethe von Trotta
Premiere:
Cannes 2018
Select Festivals:
Toronto, New York, Karlovy Vary, Hong Kong, Reykjavik
About:
An appreciation of the legendary Swedish filmmaker.
Margarethe von Trotta opens her film – one of two docs on Bergman that premiered at Cannes this past May – with a very personal motivation for taking on the master: Seeing THE SEVENTH SEAL inspired her to become a filmmaker herself. She later happily reveals that Bergman publicly named one of her classic films as one of his all-time favorites. While this might predispose her to construct a strict hagiography, she doesn’t shy away from the darker elements of the director’s personal and professional history. In addition to sharing her own thoughts on some of Bergman’s key films, von Trotta seeks out the views of other filmmakers, including Olivier Assayas and Ruben Östlund, perhaps to help contemporary audiences understand his influence. More interesting – and revealing – are the perspectives of those who worked directly with Bergman, including Liv Ullman, or his offspring, represented here by son Daniel. While hardly comprehensive, and frankly somewhat unfocused, von Trotta’s tribute offers an acceptable sampler to encourage audiences to seek out more of the director’s work.
what (not) to doc 