Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Cosmic Closet (A) on January 17, 2009 at 10:16:10

In Reply to: RE: Pauline Kael brilliantly puts Bergman into perspective in her posted by tinear on January 17, 2009 at 08:53:23

I have always loved Pauline Kael, even when I disagree with her.
While it is easy to mock the 'gloomy Swede', I do find that she comes down too hard on him here.

Bergman at his best was a realist about the world. In his films, beauty and love are hard-won things, that, when they do happen, shine all the more for it.
No one has to do 10 of his films in a row; if you do, of course you will see a certain style and outlook, much like with any great director. I have not found, in watching his major films, that he was getting tiresome or repetitious.
That said, I go in to one of his films with certain expectations, and light comedy is not one of them (although 'Fanny and Alexander' is probably his most upbeat work.)

The man had a profound understanding of the human condition. While his films could get dark, there was always some redeeming hope in most of them. I would not call "Wild Strawberries" or his other big ones "second-rate thinking."