Mubi Monday: Bergman Island (2021)

A strange and playful drama that mixes in some warped rom-com elements, Bergman Island has writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve on good form, and assisted by a great core cast that she uses well. It’s not her best work though, but it’s as good a starting point as anywhere else for those who may want to start exploring her filmography.

Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps are Tony and Chris, a couple who decide to visit an island that influenced the great Ingmar Bergman (hence the title). They hope to soak up some cinematic history and get some inspiration for their own work, with Chris particularly using the location to directly feed into the vibe of the screenplay she is writing. Wandering around together, and spending time apart, viewers get to see how the leads connect to their surroundings in different ways, and there’s also the “film within the film” that gives roles to Anders Danielsen Lie and Mia Wasikowska.

Deceptively slight for a lot of the runtime, Bergman Island is a fun interconnection of wit, exploration of human nature, and the complex relationship between art and artists, whether that is from the point of view of the artists themselves or from those looking on from outside that world. This obviously creates an interesting layer of meta-fuelled introspection, with both the “film within the film” asking more questions, as well as our own viewing of this whole feature.

Roth and Krieps are both wonderful in their roles, seeming to enjoy material that is a bit lighter, in comparison to what they have done elsewhere over the past few years, but no less worthy of their talent. I was particularly pleased to see Krieps back on good form, considering how Shyamalan managed to wring an awful performance from her in Old. Wasikowska is someone I haven’t seen in a while (which may just be down to the movies I have been watching recently), but she is as good as ever, and Danielsen Lie works well alongside her. The other main character is played by Hampus Nordensen, and he does decent work, although his character is more of a signalman, simply there to allow the character played by Krieps to start viewing some different paths on her creative journey. 

Easy to like, but a film I found surprisingly hard to love, Bergman Island needs the structure that Hansen-Løve uses to make it such a fun and layered experience, yet the structure also provides a barrier or two to becoming fully immersed in the onscreen world. Perhaps having the scenes from the film within the film interspersed throughout the main narrative would have worked a bit better, but perhaps I am just a lot less creative and thoughtful than the woman who made this. The latter is a lot more likely, and I am sure that many others will like this even more than I did.

A knowledge of Bergman’s work isn’t essential, but it will allow you to enjoy more references and gags. Although in terms of more general film viewing habits . . . I would say that a knowledge of Bergman’s work IS essential. And a knowledge of Hansen-Love’s work is recommended, because she has put together an interesting, thought-provoking, filmography that means I will always be interested in whatever she does next.

7/10

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Mubi Monday: The Worst Person In The World (2021)

Having now seen a few films from director Joachim Trier (including the most excellent Thelma), it's easy to see why he already has such a sizeable fanbase. His films explore human nature in a way that is honest, dark, and also usually very witty. While The Worst Person In The World has some elements that don't quite work for me, it's generally another easy recommendation for fans of Trier's work.

Renate Reinsve plays Julie, a young woman who we see going through a number of relatively speedy changes in her life within the first main sequence of the film. She ends up in a relationship with Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), which leads to a scenario that will be sadly familiar to so many women . . . the questioning about when they're going to start a family. Julie then meets Elvind (Herbert Nordrum), someone she connects with at a party. There's no cheating, but there's definitely an instant connection and an inappropriate level of intimacy between the two. Things once again look set to change rapidly for Julie.

First of all, anyone expecting a dark comedy delivering us a character who really IS the worst person in the world will be sorely disappointed. This is a film about how people battle their way through life, and how they feel others will view them. Julie makes a number of decisions in her own best interests, but those decisions are open to dissection and criticism from others.

Trier, once again working with Eskil Vogt on the screenplay, simply allows events to unfold, keeping the viewers as close as possible to Julie in an attempt to show how her decisions are made, how we are all prone to chopping and changing our minds as we navigate these murky waters, and how nobody really ever knows what someone else is going through.

Reinsve is excellent in the lead role, just absolutely believable as an everyday woman dealing with the many small bits of bullshit that people (but mostly women, especially when it comes to the baby talk) deal with every day. Lie and Nordrum also do great work, playing the two main men in Julie’s life, the former an artist who creates “shock” comics, the latter a barista who is perhaps even less sure of his path through life than Julie.

There are one or two easy “set-pieces” that will be remembered long after the credits have rolled, but this is a film in which every scene makes a strong point. That point could be about the importance of not being dragged down by family members who no longer make any effort. It could be looking at how intimacy without physical contact can still be viewed as cheating on a loved one. It could even explore regret, and whether or not that overwhelming urge to move backward is a good thing for those who were once very much in love.

My minor criticisms come from the runtime and the structure, both of which I feel could have been trimmed and reworked better. There’s a middle section that sags a bit, and the chapter breaks feel very much like Trier was shying away from one or two other tricks he could have used.

Overall, however, this is pretty great. Everyone involved, both in front of the camera and behind it, deserves some praise, and everyone who appreciates world cinema should make this a high priority on their viewing schedule.

8/10

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