This is only the second film I've seen from Mia Hansen-Løve, after "Eden." I feel like I'm still getting to know her as a director, and it's been a little rough going so far, since she tends to make contemplative films about relationships and inner struggles that I have a hard time connecting to. Her latest, "Bergman Island," is about a couple, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), who are both directors. They visit Fårö Island, the famous home of Ingmar Bergman, and now something of a tourist spot and artists' retreat. Chris, the less successful of the pair, is troubled by her latest project, which she doesn't have an ending for.
"Bergman Island" is a slower watch, and much of it is spent with Chris, exploring the island and conversing with Tony and other visitors. Eventually, an additional storyline is introduced, dramatizing the film that Chris is writing, about young lovers Amy (Mia Wasikowska) and Joseph (Anders Danielsen Lie), that becomes increasingly tangled up with Chris's own life. There's some flirting with meta elements and fourth wall breaking, but these don't feel like they're really the point of the film. Rather, they're just a means for Hansen-Løve to explore the artistic process and other issues that come up in the course of Chris's self-examination. For an added level of fun, consider that the original star of the film was supposed to be director Greta Gerwig.
I found "Bergman Island" engaging, but like "Eden," it's more about watching someone live their life than telling an interesting story. This kind of narrative is more challenging for me, but at least in this case I was able to connect to Chris as a film fan. I don't think you need to know much about Ingmar Bergman in order to enjoy "Bergman Island," but it is helpful to have some familiarity with his films. Hansen-Løve clearly takes some influence from Bergman's work, and I suspect that the keys to unlocking the twisty second half of the story are the conversations where Chris expresses her dissatisfaction with Bergman's films, despite her admiration for them. Bergman's work is dour and tragic, he clearly had problematic views of women, and despite living in such a beautiful place, he always made the island look bleak and uninviting in his films.
So, "Bergman Island" positions itself as something of a subversion of the typical Bergman narrative, while at the same time borrowing bits of his familiar themes and filmmaking techniques. Hansen-Løve nicely distinguishes herself as a director, with her own take on existential dilemmas and a good sense of humor about her own artistic pretensions. The actors are all very good, and the juxtaposition of Vickey Krieps and Mia Wasikowska is especially interesting. There are hints of "Persona" here without the film ever coming close to being a "Persona" homage. Similarly, Chris and Tony are not the protagonists of "Scenes From a Marriage," though a staff member ominously tells them that the bedroom they will be occupying for the duration of their stay on the island is the one from that particular film.
But while it's fun examining "Bergman Island" on an intellectual and critical level, I can't say the experience of watching the film in the moment did much for me. For the first half, it felt very much like a pleasant chronicle of a visit to Fårö Island. I couldn't help wishing there was more to Chris as a character, and found Amy more compelling as a protagonist, though I know that this is by design and the two women are really parts of the same character. Also, frankly, the ending irked me something fierce. It's too quickly deployed, and cuts off just as fast. I know it's supposed to be sort of self-referential, because Chris can't find a satisfying ending for Amy's story, but what Hansen-Løve chooses for the end of Chris's story struck me as swinging a pendulum too hard in the other direction.
Still, I'm glad I watched this and got the opportunity to take it apart for myself. It's a really heady, fascinating feature that totally commits to its ideas, and that's always admirable. And I'll be on the lookout for more of Mia Hansen-Løve's work in the future.
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