the bergman
so bergman died yesterday. didn't have a chance to talk about it, but i gotta draw attention to it cause the man should definitely be revered.
i always thought it was a shame i wasn't aware of kurosawa before he died, to mourn and respect the passing of a true genius. we can respect the work of galileo, or monet, or dumas...none of us lived during their times so we were introduced to their work posthumously as legendary and quite perfect art.
that's how many of us were introduced to kurosawa and welles and griffith and leone. and even though kurosawa passed in 1993, how many 10 year olds know and understand the man's work.
but to be an adult and be familiar with bergman, one can truly appreciate how visionary this man's films were. how ahead of their time they were, in the handling and exploration of death, marital relationships, being a child, and the mysticism of the spiritual and intangible.
i'll always be a kurosawa-ite. most filmmakers as students make a connection to a film legend they feel represents their tastes in storytelling or stylistic choices in terms of art (visual, auditory, written, etc.). a filmmaking legend is a true auteur, in my opinion. someone whose films are as complex in their execution that one has no choice but to stand in awe of such work, but whose films are simple, and relateable in characterization and story. what makes a film like seventh seal or wild strawberries great is its simple premise that is just layered upon as the film unfolds. what is immediately understood is a deeper perspective on the human condition or the implications of subplots, social commentary, etc.
bergman is in a class with very few other peers. imagine what our grandchildren are going to say about a wong kar wai or an alexander payne or a richard linklater. will they be considered in the same breath as kurosawa, bergman, wilder, and welles? let's hope so, one day.
and while i'll always appreciate kurosawa's breadth of work, at least i was old enough to maturely share the experience of bergman with the world before he died.
to me, the art world and, in particular, the film community have lost one of their last great fathers.
- greg