Bad films make for easy critique. Yet, it’s far more difficult to articulate why one of the best films of 2021 is so good. Mia Hansen Love‘s Bergman Island‘ is one of the most beguiling films of recent years. At first glance, it’s a straightforward tale. A struggling marriage is put to the test at the home of a founding father of film. This doesn’t sound like anything special. But Bergman Island is an enigma of intricate, layered storytelling. Hansen Love blurs the lines of reality, providing much more than a viewer can absorb in a single viewing. This director has much to say. So, watching Bergman Island feels like a crisp slice of a sharp knife straight through the heart.
The film follows filmmakers Chris (Vicky Krieps) and older husband Tony (Tim Roth) on a trip to Faro, a Swedish island. Faro is home to the Bergman Estate, Ingmar Bergman’s famous residence. Chris hopes to make headway on her next screenplay, while Tony screens his latest film. They both miss their young daughter, June, but something is off between the couple.
Chris explores Tony’s distance from her by evaluating Bergman’s ability to have it all. She enjoys a fun tour of the island with film student Hampus (Hampus Nordensen). While Tony finds inspiration in Faro, Chris struggles, then reading Tony’s notebook makes Chris question his work and morals. The gap widens.
Next, the movie swerves to focus on a different story, also on Faro. Amy (Mia Wasikowska) reconnects with her ex Leo (Anders Danielsen Lie ) at a mutual friend’s wedding. Old feelings churn. The plot returns to Chris, and her and Amy’s worlds conjoin. Hansen Love weaves the two stories so artfully, that it belies the complexity of the script. The direction is even, the mood serene, yet solemn, if there is rage here, it simmers far below.
Few films dissect Bergman’s legacy with such care and intelligence, nor deal so succinctly with the weight of creative expectation. Bergman Island does both. It’s easy to see where Hansen Love’s struggle might mirror Chris’s. The director externalises her hand-wringing, working through the selfishness of an artistic life (and keen to emphasise that this weight rests heavier on women). Krieps and Roth are wonderful as spouses expressing love and distance. And Amy’s story adds some colour, as a character trying so hard to be carefree while wrestling with melancholy.
But what elevates Bergman Island to greatness is how it may mirror real life events. Hansen Love was once married to fellow director Olivier Assayas, knowledge giving the viewer a frisson of excitement whenever Tony and Chris talk (or, don’t talk). Bergman Island moves with stealth, yet the emotional impact makes deep ripples. With work this moving and precise, it would be a waste not to take in everything that Bergman Island has to offer.