Bergman Island

Name: Bergman Island
Genre: Drama
Released: October 15, 2021
Duration: 112 min
Rating: 80
Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Anki Larsson, Clara Strauch, Felix Berg, Gabe Klinger

2021

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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Bergman Island

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Movie Details & Credits

Les Films du Losange | Release Date: October 15, 2021 | R

Starring: Anders Danielsen Lie, Anki Larsson, Clara Strauch, Felix Berg, Gabe Klinger, Grace Delrue, Hampus Nordenson, Joel Spira, Melinda Kinnaman, Mia Wasikowska, Oscar Reis, Siri Hjorton Wagner, Stig Björkman, Teodor Abreu, Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Wouter Hendrickx

Summary: A couple of American filmmakers, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), retreat to the mythical Fårö island for the summer. In this wild, breathtaking landscape where Bergman lived and shot his most celebrated pieces, they hope to find inspiration for their upcoming films. As days spent separately pass by, the fascination for the islandA couple of American filmmakers, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), retreat to the mythical Fårö island for the summer. In this wild, breathtaking landscape where Bergman lived and shot his most celebrated pieces, they hope to find inspiration for their upcoming films. As days spent separately pass by, the fascination for the island operates on Chris and souvenirs of her first love resurface. Lines between reality and fiction will then progressively blur and tear our couple even more apart.… Expand

Director: Mia Hansen-Løve

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 112 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Lillian Crawford

Jun 10, 2022

Rather than an attempt at directorial mimicry, Bergman Island is a unique vision from one of the greatest directors working today. Read full review

100

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Jul 11, 2021

A late narrative gambit made me worry that Hansen-Løve was pushing her conceit a little too far into the realm of the meta, but it pays off with thrilling clarity and elegance. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Oct 14, 2021

This ingenious and beautiful film by Mia Hansen-Løve isn’t for chewing so much as savoring. The more you think back on its mysteries, the more pleasure it bestows. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Jul 11, 2021

If Bergman Island is a roman à clef about Mia Hansen-Løve and Olivier Assayas, it’s an oblique one. If it’s a “Before” film, it’s one that embeds a crucial element of emotional exploration in the educated guesswork of the audience. If it’s a cinephile shell game made with disarmingly clever sincerity — and I would say that’s just what it is — it’s one that leaves you grateful to have paid a visit to this island. Read full review

Christopher Machell

Jun 7, 2022

Bergman Island is at once an ambivalent love-letter to the Swedish master director Ingmar Bergman and a charming study of the complexities of relationships, the creative process, and the ways that one invariably influences the other. Read full review

Pat Brown

Jul 11, 2021

The film never sacrifices its ambiguity as it brings various threads about ghosts, relationships, art, and gender to a head. Read full review

Tara Brady

Jun 3, 2022

A quiet character study pivoting around mum sex and elder care, it’s not the director’s best work but it’s streets ahead of this recent misfire. Read full review

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User Reviews

Habibiehakim

Oct 24, 2021

Bergman Island is already perfect with Chris and Tony story, inspired by the great Ingmar Bergman, Chris wrote her own story and when the story was tell visually, it just making it even more perfect, Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth chemistry is unexpectedly fantastic and i did hope they show theirBergman Island is already perfect with Chris and Tony story, inspired by the great Ingmar Bergman, Chris wrote her own story and when the story was tell visually, it just making it even more perfect, Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth chemistry is unexpectedly fantastic and i did hope they show their relationship as deeper as Amy and Joseph, played incredibly by Mia Wasikowska and Anders Danielsen Lie, overall, Bergman Island is beautiful, it's a great film, really really good, and it's simply one of the best films of the year.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

paltareina

Nov 5, 2021

this is how I sound when I tell my friends about my script ideas? damn. i love this movie, it's very special.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

cpsmith

Jan 19, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film grows on you. It is a complex narrative that is definitely a deep dive into the mid-life woman's psyche. There are so many subtle moments in this film that define a woman coming to terms with the grief of losing a hold on the idea of being wanted...or maybe better defined as lusted after. The scene where she walks into her partner's make shift office, wearing only a pair of underwear and open button down shirt, and he barely notices...that brought me to my knees. The dichotomy of wanted to be respected as an equal but also just wanting to be seen is breathtaking. How complicated and messed up the construction of the male gaze is. I'm so excited to see films exploring the female psyche - ( Also The Lost Daughter) in new ways. Bring on the female writers, directors, producers!!!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

rmurray847

Aug 10, 2023

A couple (Vicky Krieps & Tim Roth) retreat to the island where great director Ingmar Bergman lived and received much inspiration for his work. Although it's never directly stated, it's clear this couple (both screenwriters) is looking for inspiration too, particularly Krieps. The filmA couple (Vicky Krieps & Tim Roth) retreat to the island where great director Ingmar Bergman lived and received much inspiration for his work. Although it's never directly stated, it's clear this couple (both screenwriters) is looking for inspiration too, particularly Krieps. The film follows them in a somewhat ambling manner as they explore the island, both together and apart. Their marriage feels a bit that way too; sometimes the two are walking together in general equanimity and other times, you can feel some resentments brewing. Is there some professional resentment there? Roth is older and more "successful" it would seem. Is Krieps, with her minor writers block, stewing at the relative ease with which Roth creates? Are there also personal resentments there? As we go through the film, we get answers to some of this and much remains up to us. It doesn't sound like much a plot to hang a movie on, but mid-way through the film, it takes a turn that makes some sense but is completely unexpected. Just in case you were starting to wonder where all this might be going, your interest is re-ignited at just the right moment. I won't say more, because I managed to avoid spoilers before watching, and that helped my enjoyment. The other thing that makes the film worthwhile is a really stellar performance from Vicky Krieps. All the major roles in the film are well handled (many minor roles are played by island residents, and it kinda shows), but Krieps is the one you can't look away from. Her character goes through the most complex journey and she handles it all well.

I also like how arguments in the film are handled. Roth & Krieps often get along well and have an easy comradery; but they also are often not on the same page. But their fights are low key, and sometimes sort of stop and just simmer for a bit. And then maybe they just peter out rather than coming to a boil. It gives the film a convincing tone. (And the scenery of the island, though a bit stark, is lovely too.)

There is A LOT in the film about Bergman. The residents of the island are all experts on him. A film festival in his honor is held there. The film is steeped in Bergman. Which immediately begs the question: In order to enjoy the film, must one be well-versed in Bergman? I am not, myself. I'm aware of his work, of course, and as a major film buff, I know his work is one of my gaps, I fully acknowledge. So I have a vague awareness of the kinds of films he made. But that's about it. And I enjoyed BERGMAN ISLAND despite my Bergman blank spot.

I'll add further that the Criterion Blu-Ray of the film is top notch (if that's your viewing method). The film itself looks great, with just the right amount of grain to make the whole thing sparkle. And the extras are interesting and entertaining too. Good interviews and insights. And interesting to learn about how the film was made over two summers. Knowing that (after watching the movie) actually made my feelings of a few scenes evolve a little.

Clearly, this is not a film for a mass audience. I frankly can't imagine someone who isn't a fan of "cinema" enjoying it. Slow moving. Most of the action of the film is internal. It's quiet. It's "artsy." It requires sub-titles (yes, it's mostly in English, but I needed them to really understand what many of the Swedish actors were saying). But it's a rich and satisfying entertainment nonetheless.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Dec 14, 2021

This is a film that feels cordial, but small and insignificant.
This doesn't mean bad quality at all, it's just that in the final accounts, there's very little to mention about Bergman Island.
Its script resorts to playing with metafictional elements, in which one of the lead characters isThis is a film that feels cordial, but small and insignificant.
This doesn't mean bad quality at all, it's just that in the final accounts, there's very little to mention about Bergman Island.

Its script resorts to playing with metafictional elements, in which one of the lead characters is immersed in another story - much more interesting by the way - in which she never seems to make it clear what she's trying to say that relates to her day-to-day life on her location.

By all accounts it is relatively effective and pertinent. However, there are no standouts in this little story.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Mauro_Lanari

Oct 5, 2022

(Mauro Lanari)
Mia Hansen-Løve comes up with the idea of sublimating the rupture of her relationship with Olivier Assayas by making it a film: two married directors in crisis visit the island where Bergman lived and worked to defy the curse of "Scenes from a Marriage", "the movie that pushed(Mauro Lanari)
Mia Hansen-Løve comes up with the idea of sublimating the rupture of her relationship with Olivier Assayas by making it a film: two married directors in crisis visit the island where Bergman lived and worked to defy the curse of "Scenes from a Marriage", "the movie that pushed millions of couples to divorce". The two write a screenplay for their following feature films, then she tells her husband about her own plot and her words turn into a movie that ends with their alter egos. More brainy than "Inception", the lesson would be that what still holds the two together is the little daughter, a metaphor for their prolificity for their respective artistic careers.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

noob328

Nov 6, 2021

Hansen-Løve’s cinema has reached higher ceilings than this, but it is a restorative sojourn just the same.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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