The man who took Ang Lee's virgin body | The tenth anniversary of Bergman's death comes from the republic of imagination
10 years ago today, Swedish director Ingmar > Bergman died.
True movie lovers have their own set of film aesthetics, they will not trust the recommendations of famous artists, and they will maintain an appropriate distance from the popular directors who are hyped up by the media. However, even if these "holding" fans encounter Bergman, I am afraid that they will set off layers of waves in their hearts.
Not to mention —
In Susan Sontag's eyes, Bergman's work is enough to shame all intellectuals with low tastes; Ang Lee jokingly calls his relationship with Bergman "he took my virgin body"; Woody Allen recognizes Bergman as "the greatest director"... Under the reputation, Bergman became blurred. And the publication of his autobiography "Magic Lantern" just pulled back the situation, allowing us to see a highly emotional soul. In this cold and ruthless world, he could not easily adapt to life.
Today's WeChat, is Woody & middot; A review article written by Allen for The Magic Lantern. Maybe after reading it, you will feel the same emotion as this commentator, the same doubts: is Bergman a genius, or a madman?
Walk through the dark life
| Woody & Middot; Woody Allen
Translated | Kang Chong
Voice of Genius:
"Day by day, I was dragged, carried, screaming in pain and sent into the classroom. I vomit on everything I see, often faint, and feel out of balance. ”
About my mother: "I wanted to hug and kiss her, and she pushed me away and slapped me in the face. ”
About the father: "The brutal whipping is a testament to this. ...... He punched me and I punched him in return. Father staggered a few steps, and finally sat down on the floor and froze. "My father's esophagus has a large malignant tumor and has been taken to the hospital to prepare for surgery." My mother wanted me to visit him. I told her I didn't have the time and didn't want to do it. ”
About my brother: "My brother has scarlet fever. (Of course, I want him to die.) In that era, the disease was dangerous. "When my brother opened the door, I slammed the glass water bottle over his head. The glass water bottle shattered, the brother fell to the ground in response, and blood gushed out from a crack in his head. About a month or later, he coldly punched me and knocked out two of my front teeth. In return, when he was asleep, I placed the oil lamp next to his bed, and the oil lamp burned the quilt when it burned out. ”
About my sister: "Usually, my brother and I are always hostile, but this time we reconciled, and together we plotted to kill this nasty bad thing in various ways. ”
About myself: "Once or twice in my life, I have had suicidal thoughts. ”
On the religious family: "Much of our upbringing is based on concepts such as doing wrong, confessing, being punished, being forgiven, and being graced... This fact is likely to cause us to have an astonishing receptivity to Nazism. ”
Finally, a summary of life: "We came into this world for no purpose, and there is no point in living... When a person dies, he becomes nothing, from existence to non-existence. ”
In this context of growth, man has to become a genius. Otherwise, he can only become a madman, imprisoned in a hut covered with thick protective cushions on all sides, eating and laughing.
Ingmar & middot; Ingmar Bergman
01
"My first time watching Ingmar & Middot; The motives of Bergman's films are not noble."
My first time watching Ingmar & Middot; The motives of Bergman's films are not noble. The fact is: I was a teenager at the time, living in Brooklyn, and there was news that a Swedish film would be shown in our local foreign theater with a young woman swimming naked. I slept all night on the side of the road, just to get a movie ticket in the front row as early as possible the next day. But when "Monica in the Summer" was released at the Jewel Theater in Flabshire, a red-haired, black-rimmed boy led an elderly audience to take the first seat to make sure they could sit in the best seats with a wide view.
I don't know who directed the film, and I don't care. Irony, tension, German expressionism, poetic black-and-white photography, erotic sadism — I wasn't sensitive to the power of the work itself at that time. In actress Harriet & Middot; The moment Harriet Andersson took off her clothes, I came back to my senses.
When I first came into Bergman's films, I didn't know that I would later consider him the greatest director. It wasn't until a few years later, in order to try something more exciting than mini golf in the evening, that I went with my date to watch a film called Joker Night. At that time, I was a little older, and I became more interested in movies, and the movie experience was undoubtedly more profound.
Night of the Clowns
The influence of the German style in the film is always everywhere, and in the climax there is a terrible, sadistic impact. Although the focus of the storyline is not strong enough, the work is so talented that I sat with my eyes wide open for an hour and a half. The vulgar husband went to find his debauched wife, who was playing naked in the river to tease the soldiers. This clip is so skillful in the choice of shots and the rhythm of editing, so easily evoking the audience's sense of shame and pain, that only by going back to Eisenstein can we find similar film creative power.
By the way, this time I did notice the director's name, a Swede's name. And I, as usual, wrote it down and then forgot about it.
In the late 1950s, I took my ex-wife to see the much-discussed film Wild Strawberry, which was not ideally titled, and only then did I lock in the interest of Ingmar . A lifelong obsession with Bergman's films. From the first set of mysterious dream-like shots to the last calm close-up, I remember my mouth dry and my heart pounding. Who can forget these images? Clocks without hands, hearses that suddenly jammed, glares of sunlight, the old man's face as he was dragged into a coffin by his own body. It is clear that this is a master with a strong personal style, an artist with a deep concern and wisdom, whose films will prove to be on par with the great European literature.
Stills from Wild Strawberries
Shortly after that, I watched the film Face again. It boldly dramatizes some of Kierkegaard's ideas in black and white, presenting it as a mysterious story, paired with an original, hypnotic style of photography that culminated years later in the fantastic Cries and Whispers. A reference to Kierkegaard may make the film seem too boring, or too taught, but rest assured, like most of Bergman's films, "Faces" is unique in the film and television industry.
02
"What more could you ask for?"
No one in the film industry is as versatile as he is. ”
In addition to the above, Bergman is a great entertainer, a storyteller, and perhaps this is the most important point. He never loses sight of the fact that movies excite the audience no matter what ideas they want to communicate.
Bergman's theatrical style is quite inspiring, the old Gothic lighting and stylized composition, the beautiful surrealist illusions and symbolism, all of which are quite imaginative. The opening montage of Masquerade, the dinner scene in Wolf's Hour, and the fascinating story of Passion are sometimes boldly interrupted, and the actors explain to the audience what their characters intend, all of which highlight the superb acting skills.
The Seventh Seal has always been my favorite movie, and I remember watching it at the Old New Yorker Theater, and there wasn't a lot of audiences. Who would have thought that such a subject would be such a delightful viewing experience? If I described the story to a friend and then tried to convince him to watch the film with me, how would it help? "Well," I said, "the story takes place in plague-ridden medieval Sweden, and it explores the limits of faith and reason based on Danish and certain German philosophical concepts. "Almost no one will favor it. However, astonishing imagination, suspense and talent make all problems disappear. People sat there with rapt attention, like children trapped in tragic fairy tales.
Poster of the Seventh Seal
The black figure of death suddenly appears on the beach, ready to take his life, while the rational knight challenges him to play chess, trying to delay time and explore the meaning of life. The story is entangled with ominous inevitability, and the images are so powerful! Scenes of self-flogging, a scene of a witch being burned at the stake (comparable to Karl & middot; Dreyer), and the finale, where death and destiny dance together into hell, are some of the most memorable scenes in the history of cinema.
Ingmar & middot; Bergman was prolific, and his film productions after his early stages were rich and diverse. His obsession gradually shifted from the silence of God to the entangled relationship between those painful souls who tried to understand each other's feelings. (In fact, these films are not really Bergman's early works, but should be counted as mid-term works, because many of the films he directed did not receive attention until his style and reputation were affirmed.) These early films were not bad, but they were surprisingly conformist compared to his subsequent directions. ）
Bergman movie poster stitching
The influences of the 50s have well blended with his personal talents, and the German style has always impressed him. In his work, I saw Fritz · Long, Danish director Karl & middot; Dreyer, and the shadows of Chekhov, Strindberg, and Kafka. I've categorized Bergman's films:
▶ "Still in the Mirror", "Winter Light", "Silence", "Virgin Spring", "Passion" and so on, these are not bad;
▶ "Masquerade", "Shouting and Whispering", "Married Life", and some of the works I have discussed earlier are truly remarkable masterpieces of the master;
▶ There are also less typical films, such as "Shame" and "Fanny and Alexander", which satisfy a certain special pleasure;
▶ In addition, there are occasional clumsy works, such as "Snake Egg" or "Face to Face".
However, there were always some memorable moments in Bergman's less successful experiments. For example: in the intimate scene of the secret affair in "Contact", the sharp electric circular saw sound coming from outside the window; and in "Autumn Sonata", Ingrid & middot; Bergman showed her poor daughter how to play the piano prelude. The failures that Bergman portrays are often more interesting than the achievements of most people. At the moment I'm thinking of "Puppet Life" and "After Rehearsal."
Ingrid & middot; Bergman, stills from The Autumn Sonata
A digression about style.
In film, the main stage for conflict is usually the external physical world. For years, this has been an unquestionable fact – look at slapstick, Westerns, war movies, cop movies, gangster movies and musical cabarets. However, as Freud's revolutionary ideas became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the most intriguing areas of conflict shifted to the inner world, the film also faced the problem of invisible mind, if the most concerned conflict occurred in the mind and mind, how to represent it?
Bergman gradually developed a style of discussion of the human heart, and he explored the soul battlefield alone among many directors. While the actors and actresses struggle with their pain, he calmly points the camera at their faces for a long time. Great actors live in large close-ups, although textbooks don't think of it as a good film expression. For Bergman, face means everything. Close-ups, more close-ups, large close-ups. He created dreams and fantasies, subtly merging them with reality, exposing the inner feelings of human beings.
In addition, the use of a large number of silences has also been amazingly effective. Bergman's film soil is quite different from his contemporaries, and it matches the desolate beaches of the rocky island where he lives. He found his own way to show the landscape of the soul. (He sees the soul as a film, a red film, which he fully expresses in Shouts and Whispers.) He dispensed with the standardization requirements of traditional cinematic plots, allowing war to break out within the characters and giving them a strong visual effect. For example, "Masquerade".
Ladies and gentlemen, apart from the above, Bergman made films very little, very quickly, and the cost of the film was quite low. Compared to the crews that wasted a lot of film, Bergman's small team spent only half the time and one-tenth of the money to piece together a great work of art. In addition, he also wrote the script himself. What more could you ask for? Meaning, depth, style, image, visual beauty, tension, storytelling flair, speed, expense, prolificness, innovation, he is unparalleled in all of them. That's why I think he's definitely the best filmmaker. Maybe other directors can surpass him in a single field, but no one in the film industry is as versatile as he is.
3.
"Well, now his Magic Lantern is published.
I take every page as ordered. ”
Well, now his Magic Lantern is published. There are a lot of words in the book about stomach problems, which is also interesting. The book is haphazard and anecdotal, rather than being chronicled in chronological order, as a biography. There is no lengthy description of how he got started and how he gradually dominated the Swedish stage and screen.
The story jumps back and forth repeatedly, seemingly depending on the author's personal wishes. It also includes some quirky stories and sad emotions. For example, a strange story tells that a little boy is locked in a morgue and attracted to the naked body of a young woman. Another example is a certain sad emotion: "My wife and I live intimately, and my husband sings with his wife and cooperates with tacit understanding." I can't describe the intimacy between us. But a problem cannot be solved. One day, we will be apart. God will not mercifully turn us into a tree that covers the farm. As for what you're sure Bergman would have talked about, like his films, it's omitted from the book.
Well, maybe he didn't completely ignore them, but considering he's shot over 40 films, they're talked about far less often than you'd expect. There is also little written about his wives in the book, although he has been married several times. (He also had many children, yet they are rarely mentioned.) Among them was Liv · Liv Ullmann, who lived with Bergman for many years, raised a child with him and was a superstar in his films. Overall, the book doesn't devote much space to the filmmakers he's worked with.
So what does this book say? It reveals many gripping truths, mostly about Bergman's childhood, and his dramatic work. Interestingly, before filming starts, he draws a picture of each scene in advance. There is also a touching testimony about how he directed actor Anders >& middot; Anders Ek. The latter has starred in several Bergman films, and after he developed leukemia, he used his personal fear of death to portray characters in Strindberg's work.
Bergman loved theater, and that was where he really belonged. In fact, the warm and amiable family in Fanny and Alexander does not really exist, it is intended to symbolize drama. (It's not written about in the book, but I happen to know.) Bergman also mentions his illness in the book: "I suffer from certain undiagnosed ailments, and I can't really decide whether I want to live or not." As for his frail physical function: "All the theaters I have worked in, no matter how long I have been working, have equipped me with private bathrooms. ”
Bergman, the filming location of Fanny and Alexander
Bergman's collapse is also presented in the book, in an account of the events of the income tax scandal. This part is also very interesting. In 1976, Bergman was brutally removed from the rehearsal scene and taken to police headquarters because he owed the government a sum of money for his mishandling of income taxes. Something similar happens a lot: when people hire an accountant, they assume that he/she can handle everything properly and openly, only to find out after a while that he/she signs them easily without understanding or even reading the documents. Despite the fact that Bergman knew nothing about deliberate fraud and national wealth, it did not stop the authorities from imposing harsh and brutal penalties on him. As a result, Bergman had a nervous breakdown, was hospitalized, and then exiled to Germany with a strong sense of anger and humiliation.
Ultimately, what is presented in the book is a highly emotional soul. In this cold and ruthless world, he could not easily adapt to life, but he was very professional and prolific. Undoubtedly, he was a genius in the art of theatre. In Joan & Middot; In Joan Tate's English translation, Bergman is so well written that people are often moved by his descriptions. I took every page as I went, because I had a keen interest in this unique artist, and it was hard for me to believe that he was in his prime. In Bergman's book, he recalls that when he was ten years old, he received a magic lamp that cast all kinds of dappled lights and shadows on the walls. It was this magic lamp that inspired his love of cinema and touched the depths of his emotions.
Today, the world-renowned Ingmar · Bergman has retired from the film industry. In the book, he writes: "My seat is quite comfortable, and the screening room is very comfortable. The lights in the hall dimmed, and shaking images began to appear on the white walls. In the faraway space, except for the faint turning sound of the projector, everything was quiet. The figures began to move, turning their faces to me, urging me to pay attention to their fate. Sixty years later, the excitement remains the same. ”
Ang Lee talks about Bergman's influence on himself
Related books
The Magic Lantern (Full Translation): Ingmar & Middot; Bergman's Autobiography
[Sweden] Ingmar & middot; by Ingmar Bergman
Translated by Zhang Hongjun
Republic, August 2017
The Magic Lantern is the only biographical account of world cinema giant Ingmar Bergman, written five years after the author finished filming Fanny and Alexander and announced the end of his film career. Like his films, the book is full of vivid details and reveals intense introspection. Woody Allen calls it the "Voice of Genius."
In this "only work devoted to all his literary ambitions", Bergman, with complete seriousness, tries to reveal the source and process of his creation: childhood, parents, religion, theater, marriage and work. This is another modern Confession, in which the author confesses his shortcomings, fears, anger, adolescent fascination with nazis, obsession with sex, and the different pleasures of directing work. Some of the most important moments in the history of twentieth-century cinema are recreated as the author reflects on his career, alongside Chaplin, Greta >& middot; Garbo, Karajan, Ingridot; The interactions of contemporaries such as Bergman and the comments on the work of their peers such as Tarkovsky and Fellini shine from time to time.
The Magic Lantern, an anti-traditional autobiography that flashes back and forth in memory, resembles a magnificent and delicate mosaic that collages the growth of a young man from the Scandinavian countryside into a master artist, giving the reader a closer look at the greatest minds of our time.