Ingmar Bergman Art

Ingmar Bergman Art

“When a film is not a document it is a dream.”

Dreams. That is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about Ingmar Bergman, the visionary Swedish director of film and theatre. It is his films, though, that continue to capture the imagination. From the nihilistic nightmares of The Seventh Seal to the colorful imaginings of The Magic Flute, Bergman imbues every film with a dreamlike quality, our hopes and fears projected on the screen to be examined, criticized, and celebrated. 

Although the dreamer himself has passed, Bergman’s films still have an extensive influence on modern culture, impacting everything and everyone from Woody Allen to Richard Ayoade to the Bill and Ted film series and Monty Python’s Meaning of Life. Bergman’s films retain a timeless quality, tackling themes like faith, identity, and hope with such care and precision that the viewer is instantly invested. Conjuring worlds where men can play chess with Death, where the Queen of the Night sings to an awestruck prince, where a little boy can find a magic lantern in a simple projector, Bergman continues to prove himself a master magician, a creator of dreams both beautiful and terrifying, films that remain in the audience’s mind long after the screen has gone black. Click to continue reading about Ingmar Bergman.