Wild Strawberries

1957 1h 31m SV

🙌

8.1

BANGER

🔥

94%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.1

IMDB

★8.1TMDB · 1,868🍅94%Rotten Tomatoes●88Metacritic★8.1IMDB · 122,286

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Victor Sjöström
Professor Isak Borg
Bibi Andersson
Sara
Ingrid Thulin
Marianne
Gunnar Björnstrand
Evald
Jullan Kindahl
Agda
Folke Sundquist
Anders
Björn Bjelfvenstam
Viktor
Naima Wifstrand
Isak's Mother

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writers: Ingmar Bergman
Languages: Latin, Swedish
Countries: Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

69 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Latin, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Gunnar Fischer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

AWARDS

Did you know

Editor Oscar Rosander shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Victor Sjöström and Bibi Andersson and Ingrid Thulin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0050986 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ingmar Bergman directs. Gunnar Fischer behind the camera. Erik Nordgren scores. Oscar Rosander cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Sweden. Dialogue in Latin, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

169 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Latin, Swedish.
3Directed by Ingmar Bergman, shot by Gunnar Fischer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Erik Nordgren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Oscar Rosander shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Victor Sjöström and Bibi Andersson and Ingrid Thulin carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0050986 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 11 themes, including "adultery", "dreams", "nightmare", "faith".
9Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gunnar Fischer
Original score: Erik Nordgren
Editing: Oscar Rosander
Production design: Gittan Gustafsson
Costume design: Millie Ström
Makeup / hair: Nils Nittel
Sound: Aaby Wedin
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: SV
IMDB: Wild Strawberries (1957)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 88/100
IMDB rating: 8.1/10 · 122,286 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 16 wins & 4 nominations total

Silver nugget for the best foreign film
Golden Bear

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ingmar Bergman

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2013-03-15
★ 8/10
Bergman talks about the meaning of life and the pass of time. Great cast, that will repeat in several of Bergman's movies and remarkable performances from Ingrid Thulin and Victor Sjöström.
CinemaSerf2024-02-04
★ 7/10
There's a great scene near the start of this film that sees an horse-drawn hearse get it's wheel caught between the kerb and a lamp-post. The horses persist in moving forward, the wheel comes off and we have a coffin exposed in the middle of a deserted street. A passer-by approaches the coffin only to find it's occupant still alive - and, worse still, it's him! It's "Dr. Borg" (Victor Sjöström). Is it portentous? Well it made me smile anyway, as does quite a lot of this thought-provoking drama. It centres around this learned man who is to travel to Lund next day to receive a great honour for his services to the medical profession. In the middle of the night, he disturbs his no-nonsense housekeeper "Agda" (a charming effort from Julian Kindahl) announcing plans to drive from Stockholm rather than fly. She's irked and is having none of this nonsense, but she makes his breakfast and packs his case. It's at breakfast that his pregnant daughter-in-law "Marianne" (Ingrid Thulin) decides to invite herself along. En route, it becomes clear that she despises the old man, and her bluntness rather shocks him. He readily admits he's a pedantic old grouch, but somehow this cuts him to the quick. After a stop for some petrol at the garage of "Henrik" (Max Von Sydow), they pick up some hitch-hikers. Firstly, a group of young and enthusiastic people and then a squabbling couple who seem to thrive on being unpleasant to each other. As we travel, the journey and their companions start him reminiscing about his own life, about the mother of his son and about the joys and tragedies of his own life. It's only when he arrives for his ceremony that he begins to reassess his life, his perspectives and his priorities. Sjöström is super here. He really carries off the role in almost "Scrooge"-like fashion. He has taken the emotionally easy way out for much of his life and now finds himself in an unfulfilling cul-de-sac from which it not might be possible to escape. Thulin also delivers well as the deliberately provocative and seemingly unkind woman who spares him none of the knife. There is plenty of humour - dark and mischievous, and we take quite an interesting look at just how toxic introspection can be - at any age. As ever with this director, questions of religiosity and God are never far away, but here they are delivered in a manner than the characters address rather than having us to do that work - and that makes this a far more relaxed, if that word can be used about Ingmar Bergman - and gentle rummage through his theological baggage. The plot is busy and entertaining, and there are plenty of other characters enmeshed in the narrative that give us an opportunity to come up for a breather now and again, and I think this might be one of my favourites from this man.