A Game of Chess

Sad news today, as Ingmar Bergman passed away. I think I assumed for a long time he was in fact already dead, and was surprised to find out not just that he was not, but was still working and being productive.

We saw some of a great season of his works at the NFT. Those seasons are always interesting, and the NFT is one of the things I miss most about London.

One of the things I find intriguing is people's choice of which ones to go and see. For example, as a Bergman novice at the time, I chose Wild Strawberries and The Seventh Seal. The former was adored by some friends, but I preferred the latter, which was remarkable and terrifying in its own way. Choice is really dependent on how well one knows a director, and so more experienced Bergman fans saw things like Persona, Winter Light, and loved them. This lovely short article by Nigel Andrews sums it up, I think, rather well.

I haven't seen a Bergman since, but a retrospective would pose an interesting dilemma: Revisit those utter classics to get a good feel for them, or see unseen ones that deepen my understanding of his work as a whole? I find I feel the same about books, to a certain extent: while I would like to go through the whole works of Dickens, for example, what I really want to do is curl up with Our Mutual Friend, which is now like an old friend and comforts, stimulates and moves me.

When Film Forum, as it undoubtedly will, announces its retrospective we shall see what I end up choosing. I think I would explore a few new, and watch one of my others again. But you never know...