The Passion of Ingmar Bergman

Rating:
Summary: This is THE Bergman book
Review: My jaw drops at the Library Journal review supplied by Amazon of Frank Gado's magnificant Bergman book, but I note it appears to be a very early review. I had been a Bergman fan for years when Gado's book came out and when it did it was like lightning bolt. This is not just some pamphlet to add to your Bergman collection once you've read all the rest. This is the SEMINAL study of Bergman; no one can write about the filmaker in the future without knowing this book. It was the first to get past the religious mumbo-jumbo and the literary high mindedness to discover just what Bergman is actually saying. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, it is, above all, the most compelling psychological study of the director ever attempted. His discussion of "Persona," my own personal favorite Bergman film and admittedly a difficult nut to crack, quite simply renders useless virtually every other critique of the film that had been written previously, and that includes essays by Susan Sontag and a host of others with similarly sharp minds. These pages are filled with insight after insight. The only possible complaint I have is that Gado seems uninterested in the "filmic" quality of Bergman's work. There's little discussion of how the films look and feel via cinematography, framing, sound, lighting, editing, what have you. That's fine. If he hadn't left that for others there'd be little left for anyone to write about.