Bergman's classic 'Wild Strawberries' to screen at Regent Square

Pittsburgh Filmmakers will host a screening of “Wild Strawberries,” widely regarded as Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s greatest accomplishment, at 8 p.m. Jan. 6 in the Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Ave., Pittsburgh.

The 1957 film is a character study of egotistical Professor Isak Borg, a widowed 78-year-old physician, as he takes a long automobile trip to accept an honorary degree. Incidents and conversations along the way are intermixed with nightmares, daydreams and memories as Borg journeys from regret to reconciliation with the life he has lived.

The cast includes pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter and actor Victor Sjöström in his final screen performance as the old man, along with Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Björnstrand. Max von Sydow also has a small role.

The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay in 1960. Bergman refused the nomination, perhaps as a protest against less-weighty films being recognized by the Academy.

Critics say that subsequent road movies such as “Easy Rider” owe a debt to Bergman’s film, according to ingmarbergman.se, a website maintained by the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, which administers, preserves and distributes information on Bergman and his works.

There are references to “Wild Strawberries” in Pedro Almodóvar’s “High Heels,” André Téchiné’s “My Favourite Season” and in works by David Cronenberg and Tim Burton. The Woody Allen films “Another Woman,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Deconstructing Harry” also are regarded – wholly or in part – as appendages to “Wild Strawberries,” the website says.

Details: 412-682-4111 or cinema.pfpca.org

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley at 724-836-5750, smcmarlin@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shirley_trib.