"... Films like The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries (or, from other directors, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ikiru) were suddenly taking on a metaphysical cargo traditionally associated with literature, theater, or opera, daring to ask, like the suicidal protagonist of Bergman's Winter Light, 'Why must we live?' ...."
Ingmar Bergman, Requiescat in Pace.
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4 comments:
I concur with Jimbo’s appraisal. I also love the gorgeous cinematic memoir/roman a clef Fanny and Alexander.
I pass along this poignant quote from the Master, recounted in yesterday’s Times’ obit:
Once, when asked by the critic Andrew Sarris why he did what he did, Ingmar Bergman told the story of the rebuilding of Chartres Cathedral in the Middle Ages by thousands of anonymous artisans.
“I want to be one of the artists of the cathedral that rises on the plain,” he said. “I want to occupy myself by carving out of stone the head of a dragon, an angel or a demon, or perhaps a saint; it doesn’t matter; I will find the same joy in any case. Whether I am a believer or an unbeliever, Christian or pagan, I work with all the world to build a cathedral because I am artist and artisan, and because I have learned to draw faces, limbs, and bodies out of stone. I will never worry about the judgment of posterity or of my contemporaries; my name is carved nowhere and will disappear with me. But a little part of myself will survive in the anonymous and triumphant totality. A dragon or a demon, or perhaps a saint, it doesn’t matter!”
To the man who taught me about the importance of "Blood on the Tracks", and so much more, thanks.
Thanks to Dooley for writing:
My favorite Bergman film is the brief part in Diner. The scene is in a movie theatre where one guy sees Death walking on the beach and another guy says "Why is Death walking on the beach?"
Dooley, world famous film critic
Thanks to Rod for writing:
Seventh Seal was my favorite! Either he was as influential to my choosing a degree in philosophy as any!
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