TMI (Today’s Movie Info)
February: Director’s Month
INGMAR BERGMAN (1918 – 2007) was the son of a minister and many of his films include religious themes. He worked frequently with a small group of Swedish actors including Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman (with whom he also had a relationship and a child). Woody Allen is huge admirer of Bergman’s work and admittedly set out to make a “Bergmanesque” film with his Interiors (1978). Bergman (no relation to actress Ingrid Bergman) received nine Oscar nominations (no wins), but did direct 3 Oscar-winning films for Best Foreign Language Film: The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Fanny and Alexander (1982). His other classics include: The Seventh Seal (1957, famous for the chess match with Death), Wild Strawberries (1957), Winter Light (1963), Persona (1966), Cries and Whispers (1972). Though Fanny and Alexander (1982) was his final theatrical feature, he continued writing and directing for TV and stage until his death. His famous quote on movies: “No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul.”
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
I’ll never forget the first time I saw The Seventh Seal. I was in a film class, and by the end of the movie, there were only two of us still awake. I think it really opened my eyes to a different kind of filmmaking.
Brandi, if there were two of you still awake, it must have been a huge class (haha). You are so right … Swedish filmmaking, and Bergman in particular, can be quite an acquired taste. Certainly different than most Hollywood films. Personally, I enjoy the symbolism and allegories. Really makes you concentrate and use your brain!