First of all,
Wild Strawberries is an Art film..but a coherent, sentimental and meaningful one. And although "art film" is usually (to me) synonymous with pretentious experimentation, this film's stylistic flourishes are much more than aesthetic- they are functional to the plot/narrative. The story begins with an old man having a very surreal and terrifying dream where he encounters his own coffin falling out of a carriage right in front of him. Seeing himself approach his own duplicated and dead body, he yells, terrified and wakes up suddenly, with a bad start to the morning. As though this were his death omen, the rest of the film continues down the path of existential questioning, as we wait for his destiny to manifest itself. Throughout his day, the old man who is feeling shaken and nostalgic, drives out to his old summer-house to reflect on the past, particularly the day that his then girlfriend left him for his own brother..
On this road trip, he is accompanied by his niece (experiencing her own problems with marriage) and encounters several strangers/hitch-hikers on their own paths, and experiences many flash backs and day dreams which all surround the topics of love, marriage, the existence of god and finally, how briefly life passes by. When the old man returns home after this long day, he comes to some kind of very realistic peace yet discomfort about his past, and what he will soon face.
Wild Straberries is emotionally raw, and incredibly sincere. As opposed to a goal driven narrative (like classic hollywood cinema) this film takes the time to focus of the more internal battles of emotionally complex characters. This tension eventually builds up, and evokes fairly deep rooted feelings which we as humans all share. For that reason, the film requires some work on the viewer's part- and may not be for everyone. But that's life isnt it..
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