by Jacob Beeson
While Bergman Island premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival to good reviews and had a good festival run, the film suddenly left all conversation and flew under the radar to stream on Hulu in the U.S.. As fodder for cinephiles, Bergman Island takes place on Fårö, where the great filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, lived and shot most of his films. Now, the title of the film isn’t just the name of the setting, the film of course delves into Bergman’s filmography and his endearing legacy. Ironically, the plot of Bergman Island isn’t really about Bergman.
When two filmmakers, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), are accepted on a retreat to the island to work on scripts of theirs. The two are a couple with a child back home (neither of which wears a wedding ring) and seem very different though they never function as oppositional. Tony, who gives a masterclass during their time on the island, has a more public career that’s echoed by his ease of writing. Throughout, Tony has calls with producers, agents, and other industry workers that interrupts time between he and Chris, who is struggling to write her script. In fact, she has a tough time trying to come up with a story.
Haunted by the enormous legacy of Bergman and being notified that the bed Tony and she will share is the same bed in Scenes From a Marriage (1973), which is hilariously quoted by the housekeeper to be “the film that made millions of people divorce”. This places a hilarious tension between the two and is played through them working not just in separate rooms but in separate buildings. To reassure us, their relationship is quite cordial and oddly desirable, more so than most rom-com couples. Writer/director Mia Hansen-Løve balances the two’s arguments and other interactions with an experience and carefulness that feels real and is unquestionable of its intentions.
What isn’t as successful is when Chris tells Tony the outline of her story and Hansen-Løve intercuts the visualization of the story with Chris and Tony. While the story Chris tells is obviously not neatly constructed or remotely near being finished, having the section of the film begin around the midway point of the film is far too late and throws off the pacing. What’s even worse is that it doesn’t really comment on anything that’s happened prior in the story and doesn’t add any profound ideas that Ingmar Bergman’s films do time and time again. The Pain and Glory (2019) like-ending doesn’t work either as it doesn’t answer questions raised or say anything. It just happens.
Bergman Island isn’t all that bad, there are really good performances and beautiful images, but it certainly suffers from holding itself up to a mantel it most-likely wouldn’t stand up to and doesn’t here. As a cinephile, seeing artists (especially differing ones) work is always exciting and at the very least interesting to watch and actually seeing their work is another plus. A good score and a phenomenal needle drop of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All” definitely keeps you invested in the outstretched pace that feels eternal, but if you love cinema, it’s all worth it. Check it out and form your own opinion!
Exploring the Seventh Art 