Wild Strawberries and Change in the Context of Crisis: Isak Borg and Ingmar Bergman

Artists often speak of themselves in their artistic creations. Their creative effort may be used to overcome and resolve inner conflict. Such was the case with Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries, the work of a great filmmaker. Unlike many of his films, this film ends with a subtle but clearly “happy ending.” It describes the process of transformation in the portrait of a man during a voyage that took place under special conditions on a single day at a moment of great importance in his life. The intent of this paper is to illustrate the potential for important character change in the context of crisis but that takes place in a facilitating environment as revealed in the film. In this regard the film offers a model for understanding—in both a work of art and in its creator—the dynamic ingredients of personality change during crisis. Specifically, the essay will document how the film represents an effort by Bergman to master and resolve conflict with his parents, particularly with his rigid and controlling father, which was especially intense at the time he made Wild Strawberries. Years later, as he reviewed the film in the context of a new crisis, he was able to recognize the attempt at resolution though he had not been aware of it at the time he made the film.

The extraordinary visual richness of this film is such that each character and event is laden with meaning. My focus will be on the protagonist, Isak Borg, as he remembers and experiences anew the seminal moments in his life. The film moves between painful, guilty dreams and memories, interposed in the present with engaging and positive experiences with youthful