Bergman Island - A Movie Review

You have to trust your inner creativity to develop stories for the world.

Bergman Island is a 2021 film. Traveling to the island that inspired Ingmar Bergman, a couple write their screenplays. Getting lost in their imagination, they explore the island.

As soon as this film was over, I immediately had an inspiration. Films and stories give us something to talk about. Bergman Island is the film that all writers needed. We all have a story trapped in our heads. Bergman Island encourages audiences to keep writing and grasp their inner imagination.

Not a close couple, Chris and Tony spend most of their time apart in their creative worlds. This distant relationship was presented well between Vicky Krieps and Tim Roth. We don’t have to know everything about their relationship. From the way they avoid topics and spend a lot of time apart, inwardly they are jealous of one another's hidden talents.

Krieps did a wonderful job with the journey of her character. Chris has a story to tell but she doesn’t have the right audience to tell it to. Acquiring her own opinions about writing, I like her motivation. Acting as the characters in her mind, Chris doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, she takes her own adventure. That’s what we should all do.

I was not fond of Tony’s cold and shadowed behavior. He’s not interested in his wife’s creative tastes. He also doesn’t encourage Chris enough. After listening to the story that Chris is having writer's block on, he flat out admits that he has no idea where it should go next.

Telling the story that’s writing itself in her mind, we get to see it play out as Chris narrates it. This was a great idea. As writers, we put ourselves into the minds of our characters and the locations.

Mia Wasikowska is a wonderful actress. Embodying the character from Chris’s story, Wasikowska is distinguished at reflecting the journey of this character, particularly with her emotions.

Traveling to Sweden, I wish I could have joined. I have been to Sweden and it is a gorgeous place. Finding the best locations like beaches, significant landmarks, and quiet residents, the cinematography is a standout. The camera had nice tracking shots. Most of the time audiences are following right behind the characters, while walking or in the back of a car.

There’s not much dialogue in the film which is fine. Actions and emotions speak louder than words. It’s the calming atmosphere that’s a standout.

Mia Hanson-Løve properly accounted how the wheels are always turning in writers' minds. I like how she wove between the main story and the written story. Working with the actors closely, Hanson- Løve allocates how you should write what you know. It had the right relaxing atmosphere.

You learn something new every day about what you love. For me, this is the right film that I needed to watch. I love writing, but I drifted away from it a bit to do a different form of writing. Now I want to return to my original works. Don’t worry about what other people will think about your work. Write what you want to create.

The only part that I did not like about this film was the ending. It came out of nowhere with a random character that was never mentioned by the main couple at all. The ending felt misplaced entirely to where I thought it was leading to.

You have to see Bergman Island. It had a good story and it’s reflective to all writers. I recommend that you find it on Hulu.