Wild Strawberries

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Wild Strawberries (1957), written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, deals with familiar issues in the filmmaker’s stories. There is the preoccupation with death and also the anguish that exists between men and women during various stages of romantic relationships. The road trip in the story becomes a journey down memory lane with revelations about feelings surrounding those memories.

Although there are flashbacks that expand the amount of elapsed time taking place, the film has the immediacy of a stage play, as it takes place in one day, conforming to the Aristotelian rule of unity of time. The opening of the film has the main character, 78-year-old physician Dr. Eberhard Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom), writing his memoir. He sets the stage for his current situation. He says, “In our relationships with other people we mainly discuss and evaluate their character and behavior.” Basically he is saying that we become critical of those around us. This process has led him to become more withdrawn from society, shedding connections to the world, and concentrating on his nonpersonal study of science to escape his loneliness. Other facts, such as that he is a widower and has a son who has no children (suggesting no compensation for his dying by at least having a bloodline to continue his legacy) bring sadness to a man in decline. Borg hesitates at a chess board, but then makes no move, because maybe his life contains no more moves (a reference to Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, how the knight at least tried to beat death at a game of chess?). He is to receive “an honorary degree at Lund Cathedral,” the type of accolade that one receives as one approaches the end of life. 

Borg has a nightmare where he walks in intense harsh light, which produces a disturbing effect. (Bergman’s dream sequences are limited in their surrealism, but instead seem realistic in many ways, which makes them less distancing and thus more chilling). He is lost, and there are “ruined houses” everywhere. The scene suggests a loss of control over one’s life, and of decay. He has a vision of clocks without hands, possibly indicating how he is no longer alive since he is not passing through time, or his time has run out. There is the increasing sound of a heartbeat which abruptly stops, which augers the end of one’s existence. The streets are deserted, showing the absence of life. He sees the back of a stationary figure whose face turns out to look like a featureless, doll-like version of a human visage. The “man” then collapses and decays, with blood oozing out. The shot suggests someone who is both alive one moment and a corpse in decay the next. There then is the sound of a clock chiming, but it is that of a church bell signaling a funeral, as an unmanned horse-drawn hearse passes Borg. The wheel of the carriage gets caught on a streetlight. As the horses struggle to advance the vehicle, the hearse has an annoying squealing noise, which mimics the sound of a rocking baby carriage, suggesting how fast is the time between birth and death. The wheel comes off, and the casket falls and opens. Borg sees a hand hanging out. As he approaches the coffin, the hand grabs him, and he sees his own body pulling him toward death.

Borg wakes and tells his longtime live-in housekeeper, Agda (Jullan Kindahi) that he has fifteen hours before his ceremony and has decided he wants to drive to it, which upsets her plans and that of his son, who expected to meet him at the airport. They squabble but she may be his only long-term connection to another person at this point. When he tries to compliment her, she seems sour because he has disrupted the way she wanted to enjoy the day. He seems hurt by her reaction. There is almost a mother-child relationship going on between them at this point in his life as she tries to take care of Borg and reprimand his unacceptable behavior. Marianne (Ingrid Thulin) appears at breakfast, asking to get a ride with him. She is Borg’s daughter-in-law, and she has been staying at his house, which suggests that there has been trouble with her marriage to Borg’s son, Evald (Gunnar Bjornstrand).

As is seen in his exchange with Agda, Borg likes things done his way. He is bossy and sexist, saying there ought to be a law prohibiting women from smoking. But, he concludes, men can smoke cigars because it is an acceptable “vice” because it is “stimulating and relaxing.” When she asks what vices a woman can indulge in, he stereotypes females, and is condescending, saying she is allowed, “weeping, giving birth, and speaking ill of her neighbors.” (That birth can be considered a vice becomes clear later). She asks how old he is, suggesting that his ideas are old-fashioned. He says he knows she never liked him, but he is married to his son, and they are alike and hold the same principles. He brings up the fact that he lent money to Evald, and his son knows he must pay it back. She points out she knows that her husband shares his father’s ideas, but points out that Borg is wealthy and the loan prevents them from being independent of his influence over them. He continues to stress the point that “a promise is a promise.” Her brutally honest response is that, despite their similarities, Borg’s son “hates” him. This revelation seems to sting the old man, but also implies self-hatred since father and son are similar. 

Since they have opened the door to frankness, Borg asks why Marianne does not like him. She tells him, “you’re utterly ruthless and never listen to anyone but yourself.” She says he puts on the appearance of being “benevolent,” but he is “hard as nails” beneath his charming exterior. Borg says that when she asked that she be able to stay with him for a bit he says he said he was “delighted” to have her as a guest. He has altered his memory to fit the lens of how he views himself. She says he told her that he didn’t want to be involved in their marital problems, and that they should work it out themselves because, “I don’t give a damn.” She adds that his cold comment was, “I have no respect for mental suffering, so don’t come lamenting to me.” He appears to see emotional suffering as a weakness, an attitude which can cause one to lose empathy for the suffering of others. 

On the way, they stop at a house in the countryside where Borg’s family would vacation in the summer when he was a child. He notes to himself that is where the wild strawberries grow. The title of the film thus suggests that Borg, as an old man, is thinking about his early years now, possibly wanting to retreat from death’s approach. He has a daydream of what the house looked like years ago and sees Sara (Bibi Andersson), picking the strawberries. (Borg does not picture himself as a youth in his flashbacks, but is his elderly self, suggesting that he is entering his past like a time traveler, visiting his younger days from his present time). One of his many brothers, Sigfrid (Per Sjostrand) is attracted to Sara. He kisses her and she responds, showing great regret afterwards since she is to marry Isak. Since Borg was not present for this encounter, is he imagining what happened, did Sara tell him, or is he having some type of magical experience? 

Borg’s twin sisters, Kristina (Lena Bergman, the director’s daughter) and Brigitta (Monica Ehrling) are humorous as they speak the same words loudly and in unison, providing a doubling of annoyance. Old Borg wanders through this past scene like a ghost haunting his own life. Uncle Aron (Yngve Nordwall), whose birthday it is, has a hearing-impaired horn which others must shout into, making him a trying person to deal with from the children’s perspective. Aunt Olga (Sif Ruud) dominates the dinner table with an iron hand, dictating what the children are to do and what not to do, such as not to bite their nails. The twins saw Sara and Sigfrid in the wild strawberry patch. Sara throws her spoon at the twins and runs out, embarrassed and ashamed. Sara feels that Isak is good to her, but he is refined, proper, and talks about sin, and she feels inferior to him. However, Sigfrid is “bold and exciting,” and it appears she has more passion for Sigfrid. After mentally traveling to his past Borg says he feels “overwhelmed by feelings of emptiness and sadness” as he sees the opportunity he missed with Sara, whom he truly loved, but who did eventually marry Sigfrid. 

Borg comes out of his reverie when a young woman, also named Sara (Bibi Andersson playing both women) approaches Borg and asks if it is his car nearby. After finding out his name, she jokes about the bible saying Isak and Sara were married, but he corrects her by telling her it was Abraham, which points to the fact that Isak never married the Sara of his past. She asks for a ride south as her ultimate destination is Italy. She is traveling with Anders (Folke Sundquist), who is her boyfriend, and Viktor (Bjorn Bjelfvenstram). She intimately says that she is a virgin, and says she smokes a pipe, which she has in her mouth often in the film. The pipe could be a phallic symbol, hinting at her desire for sexual awakening. Sara is provocative as she admits that she is involved with Anders, but says Viktor is attracted to her, too. Thus, there is a rivalry for her affections, which mirrors Borg’s past, especially since Viktor intends to be a doctor. Borg admits he was once in love with a Sara, who married his brother, had six children and is still alive and beautiful at the age of seventy-five. He says it casually, but his brother lived the life that he wanted, and now it is too late for him. Sara says she can’t think of anything worse than growing old, and then realizes she insulted her driver, who just laughs. Her youthfulness stresses the discrepancy in their ages. Borg’s daydream of the past has materialized into the reality of the present, possibly implying that he can’t escape his destiny.

As they drive with the hitchhikers another car swerves into their lane and almost causes a collision. The oncoming vehicle flips on its side, but no one is hurt. Borg and his passengers help the husband in the other car right the automobile. The husband says they were having a quarrel and his wife was driving and became distracted. The wife is very demeaning toward her husband, talking about his selfishness. She shows her jealousy as she talks about him having “flabby muscles” but still trying to impress Marianne. She has a smug smile on her face when her husband tries to drive the car and it does not operate. We have an example of a relationship gone wrong, which contrasts with Borg’s idealized dream of his love for the younger Sara.

The man, Sten (Gunnar Sjoberg)) and his wife, Berit (Gunnel Brostrom) become additional passengers on Borg’s journey, the car containing a variety of different variations on romantic relationships. Borg, who had withdrawn from social interactions, now is confronted with a number of them. He does not adapt well at first as he is annoyed by Sten’s constant whistling. Marianne is driving and Berit looks harshly at the back of her head, her jealousy being evident. Sten tells them Berit is an actress, so one can’t tell how genuine she is, convincing others she once had cancer. Could it be she was trying to get back her long-lost attention from her husband? Marianne comes to Berit’s defense, saying Sten should leave her in peace. He is sarcastic, saying one should not “get in the way of a woman’s tears,” suggesting that a woman’s crying is a defense mechanism used by her gender. Sten then compliments Marianne’s beauty, while saying Berit is “a bit past her prime.” Marianne says she can sympathize with Berit for several reasons, since she obviously has had her problems with her marriage as well. Sten says it’s his Catholicism that allows him to be merciful toward his wife’s behavior, which of course he isn’t in the way he talks about her. Berit can’t take his sarcasm anymore, and she begins to smack Sten. As he continues his verbal abuse, Marianne has had enough. She kicks them out, saying she wants to protect the younger passengers, possibly hoping to shield their youthful hopes of idealized love in their future.

Borg arrives in the area where he first practiced medicine, and where his ninety-six-year-old mother still lives. They stop at a gas station and the manager, Henrik (Max Von Sydow) and his expectant wife, Eve (Ann-Marie Wiman) praise him for being a wonderful doctor and show gratitude for his past kindness, which contrasts with the man he has become later in life. They refuse to let him pay for the gas and want to name their child after him. He volunteers to be the godfather, as he now welcomes and reaches out toward these people from his past.

Borg enjoys being social now when they stop for a meal and the others enjoy his stories about his medical director work in the area. Sara says that Anders is going to be a minister. The man of faith contrasts with the man of science, Viktor, as they argue about the existence of God, as Sara tries to mitigate any hostility that may result from the debate. They ask Borg what he believes and he, with the help of Marianne, quotes a poem that talks about the divine beauty in the world. The response mixes nature with spirituality, which contrasts with Borg’s earlier statement about just loving science.

Marianne accompanies Borg as he visits his mother, (Naima Wifstrand). The old lady, at a distance, thinks Marianne is her son’s wife, and wants nothing to do with her, which indicates that Borg had a troubling marriage. The mother is critical that Marianne and Evald have no children, and notes that she had ten, implying Marianne has not lived up to the traditional maternal role. Perhaps the movie suggests that some feel that having children is the way to fight death because it creates new life. Borg is the last of her living children, which adds to the feeling of the fragility of life. Isak is literally the last man standing as death now waits for him. Mrs. Borg lacks generosity as she says her inheritance will not be divided up as her children had thought because she has outlived almost all of them. Mrs. Borg says she feels cold and has felt that way for a long time, which suggests her lack of emotional warmth. Mrs. Borg has a box of her children’s toys, which include a watch without hands. That object is what Borg saw in his nightmare, and adds to the sense of how quickly time has passed between when he was a child to his current state of old age. 

Borg and Marianne return to the car and find Sara alone. She points to the two young men fighting on a hill over religion again, this time adding a physical altercation to their cerebral battle. Sara sent them off out of frustration. Borg listens with amusement as Sara weighs which one of the two lads she likes better. Marianne retrieves the men, acting as a referee. After getting back in the car, Sara asks them comically, “Well. Does God exist?” She is mocking them by suggesting that their fighting is pointless and prideful to think that the two of them could settle a centuries old debate.

Borg sleeps in the car and has another dream. At first he is back in the wild Strawberry patch, the place of his youth, and young Sara holds a mirror which reflects his aged face. Her whole life is ahead of her but he is now close to the end. She asks him to accept it and smile, but he admits that is painful to do, because accepting one's mortality is very difficult. Sara goes to a crib and comforts her baby niece against the scary world she will encounter. After she goes inside the family home, Borg stands near the crib, and the image of where life begins next to where it is headed is haunting. He looks through the window of the house and sees Sara having a lovely dinner with Sigfrid, which shows he has been left out of the life he wanted. 

Borg bangs on the side of the house and is invited in by Sten, the man from the car accident. A room inside becomes a medical classroom with the film’s other characters in attendance. Sten, who is now the Examiner (we tend to mix people and things together in our dreams), gives Borg a test. He can’t see anything in the microscope except the reflection of his own eye, implying he can’t see beyond himself. There are words on the blackboard that are gibberish to Borg, but the Examiner says they state a doctor’s first duty to his patient. Borg says he can’t remember what that is. The examiner says it is to “ask for forgiveness.” The film seems to be saying Borg has left his humility behind as he has grown older, which has led to a lack of empathy. He is then told to diagnose a patient. The patient is Berit (Sten’s wife), and Borg says she is dead. But she is not, and laughs derisively at Borg. The Examiner has decided that he is “incompetent,” and is accused of “callousness, selfishness, ruthlessness.” He says that his “wife has made the charge.” So, his subconscious mind has put himself on trial for how he has acted in his life since he was young. 

The Examiner then takes Borg to witness an intimate encounter between his wife, Karin (Gertrud Fridh) and a lover (Ake Fridell). After having sex, Karin says that her husband acts like he’s a god lording over her, condescending, and “cold as ice,” which reminds us of the way his mother referred to herself, and suggests that the lack of emotional connection is hereditary. Whenever he acts tender, she says, “his hypocrisy makes me sick.” These are most likely the reasons why she has been unfaithful to him. After she disappears, and Borg asks where did she go, the Examiner comments that she was “removed by an operation.” He says it was, “A surgical masterpiece. No pain. Nothing that bleeds or trembles.” Basically, Borg removed his wife from his feelings. Borg comments how silent it is, which is a symptom of the punishment for his “guilt,” which is “loneliness.” 

When he awakes the young people are gathering flowers to honor him on his award night. Borg tells Marianne that he had a dream that shows, “That I’m dead. Although I’m alive.” That zombie-like doll in his first dream is mirrored here. He says it was, “as if I must tell myself something I won’t listen to when I’m awake.” He is saying that his subconscious is informing him about his life. Marianne sees a connection between Borg and his son. Marianne recounts a scene which duplicates the one they are in, only Evald sat where his father now sits. She told him she was pregnant, and she intends to keep the child although Evald strongly reminds her he doesn’t want to bring a baby into this world. He gives her an extreme ultimatum, telling her she must choose between having the child or being married to him. He states how he was unwanted and lived in a home where there was a “hellish” marriage. Since his mother was unfaithful he wonders if he is even Borg’s son. The viability of marriage and parenthood is once more brought into question. He says this life “sickens me.” He says Marianne’s desire, which he again describes as “hellish,” is to create life while he wishes he were “stone-dead.” So, despite his questions about his parentage he is very much his father’s son. 

Borg has now become more understanding and tells Marianne that it’s okay for her to have a cigarette, which he had forbidden earlier. She wonders, after they visited Borg’s mother, if Mrs. Borg’s frigid personality was passed on genetically since both Borg and Evald each considers himself to be a “living corpse.” She wants the Borg’s alienation from the living and its subsequent loneliness to come to an end. She wishes to have the child, so she left Evald. However, she ran to her husband’s similarly predispositioned father, showing how she is emotionally torn. Borg says he sees the same strife between Evald and Marianne that was in his marriage. And, they both acknowledge the same unhappiness between the husband and wife in the car accident, suggesting to them that couples may be doomed to a life of misery. 

This depressing scene is then counterbalanced by the young people giving Borg wildflowers, an appropriate gift from the young, to commemorate his lifetime of accomplishment as a doctor and being a “very wise old man” who “knows everything about life.” But Borg is questioning his wisdom in his private versus his professional existence. The three young people say they hope he will live for many more years. Their celebratory attitude toward one that helped those in need reflects an affirmation of life. The brightness in the lighting of the scene quickly changes to one of darkness as only Borg is seen. His voice-over says it’s getting late, not only because the award ceremony is approaching, but so is his time on earth drawing to a close.

They arrive at Evald’s house, but Marianne says she will only stay the night. However, he and Marianne admit that they are glad to see each other. Borg’s housekeeper, Agda, has come there, too. Along with the young people, there is a sense of at least a temporary respite from Borg’s isolated life. The ceremony is very formal, carried out in Latin, and preceded by a long processional with many people in attendance. Even cannons are fired to salute Borg. It is an extreme rendering, and one feels as if Bergman is satirizing the unemotional pompousness of being saluted by many strangers, as opposed to the simple sincere gratitude of the gas station attendant and his wife. Borg’s voice-over seems to validate this perception because he is thinking of the events of the day as the ceremony is taking place. 

After the event Borg is considerate of Agda, saying she needs a good night’s rest and offers her some of his sleeping medication. He also apologizes for his disagreeable attitude earlier in the day. She thinks he is ill since his kind behavior is so atypical. Borg, looking to get paroled from that sentence of loneliness, says after all these years she should be able to call him by his first name. But she is adamant about maintaining her professional integrity. However, there is a smile on her face as she tells him she is there if he needs her. Sara, Viktor, and Anders serenade Borg as he comes out on the balcony of his bedroom. Their youthful playfulness and scaled down praise give Borg more satisfaction than the stiff proceedings earlier. Sara, the hitchhiker, symbolically joins with the Sara of Borg’s youth, as she says, “it’s you I really love, you know. Today, tomorrow, always.” There is a sweet sadness to her words, which are presently comforting but also suggestive of a missed opportunity. The three young people take a sort of curtain call as they depart.

Borg is in bed ready to go to sleep, but Evald visits him before going to the dance which follows the ceremony. Borg asks Evald about what will happen between him and Marianne. Evald looks away from his father as he is caught in his own dilemma. Evald admits he doesn’t know how to live without his wife, but the problem of having the child remains for him. Borg is now generous as he wants to forgive the loan he gave to Evald. Afterwards, alone with Marianne, Borg warmly tells her that he likes her, and she returns the affection after they have bonded during their revealing journey together. 

In the voice-over, Borg says it “calms” him to recall his childhood memories. He mentally revisits the country house with all his siblings having a happy time in that pastoral setting. Sara, like a spiritual guide, or muse, escorts him to a lovely setting where his father fishes with his mother close to her husband. He is trying to reach out to others now in his old age, and in his memories, he can return to his youth, bridging that great time divide. 

The next film is Glory.