Where to Start with Ingmar Bergman

European arthouse cinema may seem daunting for many film fans wishing to broaden their tastes. It has a reputation for being cryptic and long, and it’s not in the English language. Yet most people would likely find that arthouse cinema is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable facets of the medium. They just need a good starting point. Enter Ingmar Bergman…

Ingmar Bergman is widely regarded as one of the most influential and masterful filmmakers in the history of cinema. Born in Sweden, Bergman crafted a prolific career spanning across six decades. His filmography is distinguished by its profound exploration of human relationships, existential angst, and the perennial struggle between faith and doubt. Those who aren’t yet affiliated with his films are likely to have encountered something steeped in his influence. Filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier have spoken ad nauseum about Bergman’s effect on them and cinema as a whole. Even in recent years his work is still prominent, with Bergman Island, a film about a couple who visit the island on which Bergman would write his films, and the Oscar Isaac/Jessica Chastain-led remake of Bergman’s classic television series ‘Scenes from a Marriage’, both being released in 2021. 

Bergman’s collaborations with cinematographers like Gunnar Fischer and Sven Nykvist created a distinct visual style. The striking use of light and shadow became a hallmark of Bergman’s films, with so many of his shots being referenced by other filmmakers. He often employed close-ups to capture the nuances of his actors’ performances, using their faces as canvases to express inner conflicts. As for these actors, Bergman had a repertoire of some of cinema’s greatest performers. Among them were Max Von Sydow, Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson. These recurring faces further cemented the Bergman house style.

The Swedish filmmaker manages to pack so much into relatively short runtimes, with some of his most celebrated works clocking in at around 90 minutes. These films transcend time and culture, offering an enduring exploration of the human condition. Bergman challenges viewers to confront their own emotions and beliefs, making him a timeless figure in the world of arthouse cinema. It is a credit to his writing skills that he is able to produce work that cuts so deep even decades later. 

Ingmar Bergman is most certainly one of the best directors to get into for someone intimidated by arthouse cinema. By combining gripping drama with European arthouse sensibilities, his films aren’t as impenetrable as some would believe. Much like filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard and Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman is a perfect entry point into a whole spectrum of film that is just waiting to be explored.

But where should you start with a filmmaker so highly regarded? We here at The Film Magazine hold the answer. This is Where to Start with Ingmar Bergman. 

1. Summer with Monika (1953)

For many film scholars, Summer with Monika was the first significant Ingmar Bergman film. While he had flirted with themes of existentialism and youthful romance in films such as Summer Interlude and Prison, it wasn’t until Summer with Monika that Bergman truly honed his skills. 

Summer with Monika follows Monika and Harry, and their ensuing summer romance. After meeting in a café, they quickly fall in love. The young pair are united by their boredom of Stockholm, so they decide to escape their monotonous lives. Monika and Harry steal a boat and spend an idyllic summer together on an island. They enjoy their freedom amidst the beauty of nature. However, the romantic escapade is short-lived as they face practical challenges, such as a lack of food and money. As summer ends, they return to the city, where the pressures of reality take a toll on their relationship.

The second act is uncharacteristically gentle for a Bergman film. He masterfully directs stars Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg to paint a realistic depiction of fleeting lovers. He captures the buoyant nature of a summer love so effortlessly that viewers will be unaware of the rose-tinted glasses soon to be removed. Bergman’s usual storytelling sensibilities creep into prominence during the third act, and a gut punch of realism and sorrow swiftly follows. 

Bergman’s exploration of a disillusioned couple is one that has been echoed throughout cinema. There are shades of its idyllic second act to be found within Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, as well as the carefree youthfulness that permeates Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name, with a hint of Bonnie and Clyde thrown in for good measure. A crucial fourth wall break by Monika in the third act feels not too dissimilar to the iconic final shot of Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. Summer with Monika therefore cements Bergman as a grandfather of cinema, making this an essential entry in his impressive canon. 

2. The Seventh Seal (1957)

Perhaps the most iconic film in Ingmar Bergman’s filmography is The Seventh Seal, which was the director’s next step up as a filmmaker. While he had attained success since Summer with Monika, with films like Sawdust and Tinsel, The Seventh Seal is the film that propelled Bergman onto the world stage. 

Set during the Black Death, the story follows Antonius Block, a knight returning from the Crusades, who encounters Death on a desolate beach. In a bid to delay his demise, Block challenges Death to a game of chess. As they play, Block and his squire, Jons, travel through a plague-ravaged medieval Sweden, meeting various characters including a troupe of traveling actors: a blacksmith and his wife, and a supposed witch. Block searches for meaning and redemption, grappling with his crisis of faith. He seeks to perform one meaningful deed before his game with Death is finished.

The Seventh Seal has been celebrated since its release for its profound exploration of themes such as faith and existentialism. Block, one of Max Von Sydow’s finest roles, repeatedly talks about his place in the meaningless world, contributing to an overall examination of the human condition. The Seventh Seal also feels deeply personal. It is often understood that the silence of God that torments Block could represent Bergman’s father, and he too experienced a crisis of faith, something explored further in Bergman’s 1963 film, Winter Light. In that sense, The Seventh Seal is a great film for understanding auteur theory, as so much of Bergman is injected into the work.

Its imagery, shot on stunning monochromatic film by Gunnar Fischer, is often parodied. Block playing chess with Death is mimicked in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), and the Dance of Death scene is played for laughs in the ending of Love and Death (1975). So to some newcomers, there may be a comfortable familiarity with The Seventh Seal already, making it a perfect entry point. 

3. Wild Strawberries (1957)

Released in the same year as The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries might be a more simple premise, but it is just as poignant and insightful as the former – remaining one of the most esteemed works in Ingmar Bergman’s filmography.

The film follows the journey of Professor Isak Borg, an elderly physician traveling from Stockholm to Lund to receive an honorary degree. Accompanied by his daughter-in-law, Marianne, Prof. Borg embarks on a road trip that becomes a profound journey into his past. As they travel, Prof. Borg experiences a series of dreams and flashbacks that force him to confront significant moments in his life. He recalls his youthful love for Sara, who eventually married his brother, and reflects on his emotionally distant relationships with his family, including his estranged son, Evald.

Bergman directs a much more intimate picture here, perhaps his most introspective. The bulk of the runtime is spent with this one character, so Bergman dives into him as much as possible, tackling themes of aging, regret and redemption. World cinema fans may see shades of Akira Kurosawa’s Ikiru (1956) in this, due to its subject matter of a reflective aging man, but where Wild Strawberries differs is its form. Bergman navigates through these themes with numerous dream sequences that range from surreal – evocative of Federico Fellini – to occasionally frightening. These are experimental but allow the viewer to really understand Prof. Borg’s mental state. 

Victor Sjöström delivers a powerful performance as the guilt-ridden Prof. Borg, capturing the character’s complexity and transformation. This was his final film role, and his most famous – though he had quite a legacy before this, being a pioneering director in Sweden’s silent film era. Bergman had been a longtime admirer of Sjöström, so to direct his final role must have been bittersweet for him. Sjöström’s directorial works include The Phantom Carriage (1921).

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These are only three of the many masterpieces Ingmar Bergman directed in his lifetime. They are his most accessible, acting as a perfect stepping stone into one of cinema’s most profound filmmakers. From here, there are numerous avenues into his filmography that you may wish to take. Arguably his most famous film, Persona, is an avant-garde deep dive into fractured psychological states. It is densely packed with ideas and ambiguity, but is one of the most rewarding films to sink your teeth into. There is also his Faro Trilogy – three unconnected films that share themes of violence on ordinary life. The highlight in those three films is Shame, which makes a strong case for being the greatest war film ever made. Finally, there is his television work: the emotionally intense ‘Scenes from a Marriage’ and the semi-autobiographical ‘Fanny and Alexander’. Whichever path you may take, you will certainly be gifted with intelligence and emotional resonance, the kind of which only Ingmar Bergman could produce.