Wild Strawberries: expressionistic and Freudian dream sequences
"There are other Expressionist and certainly Freudian dream sequences in the picture, almost always with the old man appearing in them as his present self. And some of these, largely because so many have badly copied, now look a little self-conscious- arty even. But the film's ability to engage the emotions makes it notable for more than just technique.
One of the prime reasons is what can only be described as the transcendent performance of Victor Sjostrom as Professor Borg. Sjostrom was the great Swedish silent-era director, who died aged 80, not long after the film was completed and whose The Phantom Carriage had so influenced Bergman. It was he who made the final scene one of the most serene of all Bergman's endings. 'Sjostrom's face shone', said the director. 'It emanated light - a reflection of a different reality, hitherto absent. His whole appearance was soft and gentle, his glance joyful and tender. It was like a miracle'.
Later, Bergman admitted that the character of Borg was an attempt to justify himself to his own parents, but that Sjostrom had taken his text, made it his own and invested it with Sjostrom's often painful experiences. It is still, however, chiefly concerned with forgiveness between parents and children and the lost possibilities of youth."
(Derek Malcolm, 10 June 1999)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Limbo: beautiful 2D sidescroller puzzle game
"Though this is just an early teaser trailer to the upcoming Danish platformer, Limbo, it’s already looking brilliant and I’m already thinking of the possibilities. An indie game to the core, Limbo is being produced by 1 extremely talented individual, Arnt Jensen, who is behind the art, concept and design. Limbo has recently received a healthy grant from the Danish government in order to continue the development of the game, more proof of the good that government funded innovation achieves."
(Playthrough.net, 26 September 2006)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Claustrophobic spaces of German modernity and agoraphobic spaces of American post-war film genres
"Running throughout our essay as its leitmotif is the opposition between the claustrophobic spaces of German modernity (epitomized in Expressionist cinema and in the noir films directed by Germans in Hollywood) and the agoraphobic fear of wide open spaces, exemplified by post-war American space (suburbia and the urban "superblock") and by the post-war film genres of the western and the road movie. Lacking a frontier myth, Germans fantasized about an expansive sense of space and dreaded a claustrophobic one. By contrast, the American cinema developed a morbid fear of open spaces devoid of human community and fantasized about the possibility of a tightly-knit urban community."
(Ed Dimendberg and Anton Kaes)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
