Bergman Island: “An ode to love and artistry”

Mia Hansen-Løve brings her ode to love and artistry with Bergman Island, 12 years after Father of My Children won the Special Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival. The story takes place on the eponymous island in Fårö, Sweden where acclaimed film director Ingmar Bergman filmed many of his pictures and lived in his later years until his death. Couple Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth) travel to do work on their respective scripts. She writes with ease and is celebrated and lauded by those on the island; for Tony, it’s a self-inflicted pain that seems to reach only smaller audiences. As they both write and try to search for inspiration from Bergman, two stories blend together to flip reality on its head.

The audience is pulled into the world of Chris’s script as Amy (Mia Wasikowska), an American filmmaker, travels to Fårö for a wedding her former love Joseph is also attending (Anders Danielsen Lie). It’s a shame as just when one starts to be really drawn into the couple’s artistry, relationship and tensions that fill the disparity of their recognition, the entire story changes. Amy attends the wedding, only to plan to wear a white dress, and yearns for Joseph. It must be said, though, that the French director captures the heartbreaking awkwardness of being so in love with someone who doesn’t reciprocate. The constant looking back to see where he is, checking her phone every minute and then finally bursting into tears on a friend’s shoulder: Amy’s heartbreak can be empathised with by anyone.

Erring on the side of pretentious with an odd narrative structure, Hansen-Løve‘s direction breaks all confines of storytelling. The chemistry between Roth and Krieps is so naturalistic, capturing their characters’ own secret language, rich with annoyances, misunderstandings and private jokes. But Bergman Island ultimately falls short of spectacular as it doesn’t let the audience fully immerse themselves in any of the character’s stories. With an unearthed script, it’s not the best at Cannes this year but still a sweet and relatable picture about the hardship of being a filmmaker and in love.

Emma Kiely

Bergman Island does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2021 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.

Watch a clip from Bergman Island here: