Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Mia Hansen-Løve
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie
Ingmar Bergman may not seem the most likely filmmaker to inspire a
theme park, but that's essentially what happens on the Swedish island of
Fårö for one week every year. Bergman lived and died on the island and
conceived and filmed several of his films there. Once a year the island
hosts Bergman Week, which sees filmmakers invited to sleep in the
bedroom from Scenes from a Marriage, visit Bergman's grave and argue with fellow cinephiles over the
meaning of his oeuvre.
As a promotional video for the tourist board of Fårö,
Mia Hansen-Løve's Bergman Island is a success. Who
wouldn't want to spend a summer week in this glorious setting (though as
a character points out, it may not have the same charm in January)?
Unfortunately there's not much of a movie here, certainly not one that
would satisfy Bergman fans.
Tim Roth plays Tony, a filmmaker who is this year's special
guest during Bergman week. Ironically, he's not much of a fan of the
Swede. The same can't be said for his wife Chris (Vicky Krieps),
who adores Bergman and is thrilled to spend a week on the isle. While
Tony shows off his work and fields phone calls from distressed Hollywood
producers, Chris seeks artistic inspiration from the island and hangs
out with a young film student (Hampus Nordenson).
And that's pretty much it, until the second half of the movie, when
Chris tells her husband the plot of the movie she's currently writing.
This sees the film play out the narrative of the fictional film, with
Mia Wasikowska and Anders Danielsen Lie playing a
struggling romantic couple, and later themselves. Fiction blends with
reality as characters from the real world pop up in Chris's story and
vice versa. But none of it is remotely interesting. Chris's story is a
snoozefest within a snoozefest. The relationship between Chris and Tony
is so poorly sketched that we have no idea of the status of their
marriage. Is it on the rocks or are they completely comfortable with one
another? I have no idea. Hansen-Løve reportedly wrote the film while
breaking up with Olivier Assayas, but none of her experience seems to
have bled onto the page, and certainly isn't present on the
screen.
Bergman Island is on MUBI UK
now.