"When you were little you believed in Santa Claus, now you believe in God."
- Viktor

Beautiful and surreal, with some truly dark imagery along the road to the climax of Professor Izak Borg's journey. This is a thoughtful and moving drama that looks through Izak's past with an 'outside-looking-in' approach that really heightens the feeling of angst for what is coming.

The feelings of isolation, separation and desolation that Izak is experiencing through this 91 minutes is sometimes hard to bear. Getting old is normal, and yet as he nears the end of his own life it's clear he has a deep-rooted unhappiness with some of the choices made along the way.

As ever, the female leads in this little piece of Bergman magic: Ingrid Thulin (Marianne) and Bibi Andersson (Sara) are fantastic, but Victor Sjostrom steals the show as a truly compelling and convincing Izak. He was 80 when he played this part - amazing.

There is a lot to take in here, and I'd definitely recommend it. Though filmed way back in '57, the subject matter is timeless and as relevant today as ever. Personally I found Persona a little easier to digest. Smultronstället just needs a little more focus to get the best from it.

Watched as part of Scavenger Hunt #62 | May 2020 - #6/31