NEWS

First of all, please accept the best wishes of the Davidson Film Club board for a happy, fruitful, and enjoyable 2025, surely the best year for the film club to offer its 25^th series to our audience!

To begin this series, we are pleased to invite you to a screening and discussion of the classical Swedish masterpiece Wild Strawberries on Saturday, January 11, at 7:00 pm in the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson.

“An intensely cinematic psychological portrait of a man reckoning with the how and why of who he’s become. Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFim  

Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Sweden (1957, 1h32)

In Swedish with English subtitles

Discussion of the film will be led by Lawrence Toppman, former award-winning film, theater, and music critic for The Charlotte Observer.

Walk-ins are welcome, $9 (NC sales tax included) at the door, cash or check (no credit cards). Walk-ins must apply for a seat in advance at [email protected]. Walk-in seats are limited by availability.

Refreshments (red and white wine, bottled water, and snacks) will be made available by the Film Club.

Film Summary:
Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law Marianne in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara (Bibi Andersson), a dead ringer for the doctor’s own first love.

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 94%, Audience Score 94%

R.T. Critics Consensus: “The bittersweet Wild Strawberries is Ingmar Bergman’s beautifully written and filmed look at one man’s nostalgic journey into the past.”

Oscar-nominated plus 16 wins, many for Best Director, Best Film, and Best Actor, including the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin IFF, The Golden Globes winner for Best Foreign Film, and a Best Director Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

“Bergman’s penchant for giving physical form to the conscious and subconscious mind is rarely more apparent than in his 1957 masterpiece Wild Strawberries.” David Pountain, Vague Visages

“One of Bergman’s best in a six-decade-long career littered with masterpieces.” Michael J. Casey, Michael J. Cinema 

“Bergman understands one of the most bittersweet characteristics of nostalgia: it juxtaposes our memories, in which everyone is young and healthy, and the inevitable reality of physical decline that followed.” Pablo Villaça, Cinema em Cena

“If some of the symbolism is a bit top-heavy, Bergman’s richly evocative contrasts of youth with age more than compensate, as does Sjöström’s majestic performance.” Total Film

“Swedish master Ingmar Bergman delivered one of his greatest ruminations on love and life in this 1957 drama.” Phil Villarreal at COED 

“Bergman’s often heralded masterpiece of European cinema is more than a formal delight. It’s funny, touching, and very, very emotional.” Eric Melin at Scene-Stealers 

Audience Review:

“Beautiful photos and peaceful atmosphere cause this movie to be perfect for Bergman’s psychological view on humanity. Sjöström’s reflection on his character’s behavior makes a person want to grab an old photo album and remember all the good things that happened to them in life.”

Our website features the whole current series and film descriptions. Have you Bookmarked it?

We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization run by volunteers that only exists to bring you fine international fiction films and engage in stimulating discussion about them.

Hope that many of you will be at the January 11 screening of this very moving, nostalgic reflection on a man’s life!

Alan
Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
[email protected]
(704) 231-6736

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