I've seen very few Nordic movies, and as far as I've seen, Nordic movies are like their climate - empty, clear, pure. "Wild Strawberry" seems to have the characteristics of some Nordic movies in temperament, and at the same time more integrates the emotions of the film itself - the lonely empty silence, the almost ubiquitous sense of oppression, the secret nightmare-like deep burial of anxiety.
At the age of seventy-nine, Isaac was in deep panic of death: he dreamed of himself lying in the coffin, and soon he frequently recalled the past years - these memories were not warm, but only brought regret and anxiety. The old man seemed to be slightly delirious in the anxiety, and his memories began to mix with reality. He recalled that his lover had abandoned him at first, but the reason was because he was too old. The young man who hitchhiked revealed the secret. He said: "Fear is the best respect for death."
The clarity and purity of the Nordic film became the coldness of Isaac and his mother and son in the film. . It seems that Isaac's son could serve as a young Isaac, thus providing a direction for us to trace back to Isaac's fears - I remember they all expressed their distaste for women having children.
And there are more secrets hidden in the picture of the film. My feeling is that most of the time, you don't feel like there's anyone else in the world of the movie other than the characters, and the only lively scene is the crowd at Isaac's awards ceremony , but just passed by. In the strawberry field, the branches behind the characters are darkly staggered, no matter how you look at it, it looks like a nightmare pervading Isaac's heart. In Isaac's dreams, crumbling towns, clocks with no hands, coffins with their own hands, strange-looking people, strangely demanding tests all convey aging, weakness and loss of control.
Contrast is everywhere. Isaac's life contrasts with his absurd dreams; Isaac's slowness contrasts with youthful vivacity; Isaac's loneliness contrasts with ceremonial grandeur; even Isaac's kindness and daughter-in-law's dislike forms a contrast.
This is a boring film - I use the word boring not to describe the dullness of the plot of "Wild Strawberry", but to express the deep feeling left by the depletion of energy in the film.
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