Alone With His Demons
by Brian Hughes
I often find myself bored at work. I like it that way. It gives me ample time to look on IMDB, see what my heroes are up to. I looked up legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and was thrilled to find out that Documentarian Marie Nyrerod had shot an interview with Bergman at his reclusive home on Faro Island in The Baltic Sea. IMDB had its title as: Ingmar Bergman - 3 Dokumentärer Om Film, Teater, Fårö Och Livet Av Marie Nyreröd, with a running time of 174 minutes. What the hell is this? How can I get my hands on a copy? I thought for sure, that just as with the documentary Nick Drake: A Skin Too Few, it would only be seen by European filmgoers and television watchers, and that the best I’d be able to do was snag a bootleg copy of it. But, fortunately, that is not the case; turns out Nyrerod’s film has landed on our shores with the title Bergman Island, cut down to a paltry 85 minutes. To my great happiness it was, and still is as of this writing, playing at the blessed Film Forum on West Houston. I ran down immediately to catch a viewing.
The film aptly begins with the sea – the sea that guards Bergman’s reclusive existence and also sparked his imagination. The very same sea the four main characters of Through A Glass Darkly walk out of in the first shot of the Academy Award winning film. This film being the first of numerous films he’d shoot on the Island that would be his home for the rest of his life: Faro. The first time we see Bergman, he is walking. After a good breakfast, he takes a stroll to a favorite spot of his and writes for four hours. He explains that because of his laziness and lack of discipline, it is essential for him to keep a daily routine. Bergman is a man after my own heart. We already know that Bergman goes to extraordinary lengths to exorcise his demons, to question whether there is a god or not, and to get to the inner core of his innermost fears, through theatre and film. But seldom do we see an artist be as frank with an interviewer as Bergman is with Nyrerod. Telling us in detail his six most fearsome demons, explaining to us the problems of having an affair with Liv Ullmann while still seeing Bibi Anderson during the making of his masterpiece Persona, the consequences of being a miserable, non-existent father to nine children. Bergman holds nothing back, and when you consider how old he is (85 at the time of shooting) it is daunting that his mind is as clear and present as it is. He speaks with the conviction of a twenty year old.
Bergman expounds on the wonderfulness of silence. How he enjoys being alone. But I don’t believe him. There are very few people who could stand being alone for as long as Bergman does. Besides, if you believe what he says, not only are his demons ever present, much like those of his scary Hour of the Wolf, but his fifth wife, Ingrid, deceased eight years, is on the island still, waiting to take him.
Darkness, clocks, the sea, bad conscience, demons, truth, death, and life are all discussed with much candor in this highly recommended film. You will also get a look at Bergman’s private film collection, which includes footage he shot during the making of The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries. We also get inside his house, see the interesting reason he created his unusual fireplace, and see footage of him directing on both the stage and in film.
If they gave me the option, I would have liked to have heard Ingmar talk about his films in greater depth and detail. And I would have liked to have seen a longer version, of course. I don’t think the film would have suffered at all if it came in at 120 minutes rather than the 85 we are given. But if you are anything like me, who would pay to see Ingmar Bergman read the newspaper, then you had better try to catch Bergman Island. Or if you are not as crazy as I am, and are an avid film enthusiast unaware of Ingmar Bergman’s films, then this will be a wonderful intro to an extraordinary life in film and on the stage. Either way, it will probably be the last time this great filmmaker will ever be seen in front of a camera again.
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