"I have several reasons to love faroe – first of all, the signal intercepted by my inspiration: Bergman, this is your hometown, its form, proportion, color and light, the vision, the sound and silence it brings, and even its reflection in the water, are exactly the same as the pictures you paint in the depths of your heart... It's like you're looking for simplicity, harmony, tension and relaxation at work, and the scenery of Faroe Gives you everything you seek, and it's richer... I said to myself: 'This is where I want to live, I've never felt the same way about any place, it's like magic.' ’”
—Ingmar Bergman
Woody Allen had never been to Faroe Island during Bergman's lifetime, and they usually met in New York. At the dinner table, the wives of the two sides talked happily, but the two big directors were unusually silent and almost did not talk. Near dinner, Bergman and Woody Allen said to each other almost at the same time: 'You know, I admire you!' It turned out that both of them were too nervous at the time. ”
Speaking of Bergman, Helen has a whole bunch of anecdotes like this to share. The young playwright from Brazil is also the new director of the Bergman Center on Faroe. Now, together with her Swedish husband, who also works in film, she lives in one of Bergman's various residences on faroe Island, "The Bergman Foundation selects artists and filmmakers from a large number of applicants every year and invites them to stay in these residences, hoping that this unique experience will help them to develop more creative inspiration." ”
I walked through the narrow aisles of the Bergman Center, perusing the black-and-white stills, filming tidbits, and script manuscripts. The Bergman Center, which consists of two long bungalows, is small and includes a small cinema, a library with numerous Bergman's original scripts, manuscripts, biographies and film DVDs, a café facing a tranquil lake, a small museum that brings together Bergman's classic film materials from various periods, and two small rooms that display scenes of local life.
The Bergman Center consists of two long bungalows
In April 1960, Bergman searched for a location for the film "In the Mirror", when his first choice was the island of orkney in Scotland, but due to the high cost, he had to retreat to the second place. By chance, someone recommended faroe Island to him, so he came here with the mentality of trying it out.
On that day, the film crew flew to Visby Airport, where a dilapidated taxi boarded a ferry bound for Faroe Island. It was raining and snowing and the sea breeze was raging, but Bergman fell in love with the island hopelessly at first sight.
In the film that won the 1962 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, black-and-white film brought the unique and disorienting landscape of Faroe Island to life for the first time. In 1965, Bergman came back to shoot his second film, Masquerade, which he filmed on the island. It was also during the filming of the film that he made the decision to settle on Faroe Island.
On midsummer night in 1967, Bergman moved to Faroe Island, where he filmed several other films, including Jackal Hour, Anna's Passion, shame, and two documentaries documenting the lives of the local population.
Getting to Bergman's secret residence is not an easy task. This long strip house, which is more than 56 meters long, is tucked away in one of the few pine forests on Faroe Island. Not far away is where his classic film "Shame" ended. This barren shoal, known as the "Beach of Shame" because of the film's relationship, is covered with white pebbles, sparse bushes and small trees protruding beyond the low limestone cliffs. Bergman wrote, meditated, read, and occasionally went out in his home.
Posters on display in the museum
Shoot props on display
Local residents are not surprised that he sometimes rides around the island on his bicycle, and Bergman is grateful for the "righteous" actions of the locals to protect his privacy: when curious tourists ask the locals where Bergman's residence is, they are always tight-lipped and warn people that Bergman has a vicious dog in his house, and it is best not to disturb him. In fact, the legendary Hummer is nothing more than a docile beagle.
Helen's current home is just behind Bergman's private cinema. A little further away, you can see a huge stone windmill, which is said to have been one of Bergman's properties.
Bergman's private cinema was a little smaller than I thought, with only 15 seats. With its white walls and striking red doors, this small bungalow is said to have once been a cowshed. At that time, Bergman also held the premiere of the TV series "The Magic Flute" here, and the first audience was the residents of the island.
Being buried on the island of Faroe with his deceased wife Ingrid, who had gone before him, was Bergman's last wish. Before he died, he personally chose the place he wanted to be buried after his death, hoping to rest in this humble corner for a long time without being disturbed.
His cemetery, like his secret residence, was once a "secret" kept for him by the islanders.
I found his and his wife's tombstone in an inconspicuous corner behind the Faroe church, a low-key small cobblestone tombstone in the middle of a meadow with their names simply inscribed on it, and some cute little flowers planted in front of the monument. It is said that there was only grass around the tombstone, but because there were so many people who came to see him, the grass was trampled on, so a stone path to the tombstone was built on the grass.
This Faroese church was built in the Middle Ages, and after a renovation in the 19th century, it has completely lost the structure of the nordic wooden church typical of the medieval period, and looks quite simple and modern. Today, it is also the venue for the opening ceremony of Bergman Film Week every summer.
Standing in the silent cemetery, I suddenly remembered a scene from Bergman's documentary about Faroe Island: a resident of the island was asked: "Do you feel lonely here?" The rustic farmer almost blurted out, "Not at all, I enjoy solitude." ”