The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

London Film Festival 2015

Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words

London Film Festival 2015: Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words | Review
9 October 2015
Nina Hudson
Avatar
Nina Hudson
9 October 2015

Movie and show review

Nina Hudson

Ingrid Bergman - In Her Own Words

★★★★★

Release date

13th November 2015

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words is a documentary film by Stig Björkman. Released exactly 100 years after her birth, this film pays homage to Ingrid Bergman, an individual whose luminous smile and passion for her work made her one of the most celebrated actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The celebrities of Bergman’s generation are shrouded in a sense of mystery and glamour annihilated by the Internet, making this insight into her life all the more intriguing and absorbing.

Björkman’s film defies the conventional formula of biographical documentaries: Bergman’s story is not told through hand-me-down accounts, childhood friends, or biographers; the actress’s experiences are not the usual regurgitated conjecture too often inflicted on viewers by this genre, but a fresh, honest account told in, quite literally, Ingrid’s own words. As it turns out, the award-winning actress seems to have had a way with the written word. Letters and diary excerpts are read by Alicia Vikander’s honey-toned voice in the actress’s native Swedish tongue. We hear of Bergman’s hopes and fears; her private thoughts and emotions as revealed to those who were closest to her. This, combined with accounts given by her children, makes for a poignant and intensely human description of the actress in her work, relationships, and role as a mother of four.

The footage itself is almost entirely composed of private reels of film shot of and largely by the actress herself, and is seamlessly stitched together into a beautifully candid portrait of the star. Having been captured on small hand-held cameras such as Super 8s, the faded colours, soft focus, and grainy texture of much of the footage imbues the whole with a distinctive air of nostalgia.

The film is unwavering in its sensitively captured tone, disarmingly honest, making it all the more sympathetic. Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words has the potential to be both accessible and fascinating to viewers familiar with Bergman’s career, as well as those who might only boast of a tangential familiarity with her work. Michael Nyman’s music threads the film together with beautiful melodies which strike just the right balance between melancholy, and a little sweep of passion and drama. It’s rare that a documentary should leave you wanting more, but Björkman seems to have managed just that.

★★★★★

Nina Hudson

Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words is released nationwide on 13th November 2015.

For further information about the 59th London Film Festival visit here, and for more of our coverage visit here.

Watch the trailer for Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words here:

Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

YouTube privacy policy

If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

Related Itemsreview

More in Film festivals

Petite Maman

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More

Daniel Brühl on his directorial debut Next Door: “It was magical; I didn’t get a ‘no’ from anyone.”

Selina Sondermann
Read More

Introduction (Inteurodeoksyeon)

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More

Azor

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

Night Raiders

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

Big vs Small

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

No táxi do Jack (Jack’s Ride): An interview with director Susana Nobre

Ezelle Alblas
Read More

The Scary of Sixty-First

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More

Social Hygiene (Hygiène sociale)

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Nina Hudson

Ingrid Bergman - In Her Own Words

★★★★★

Release date

13th November 2015

Links

FacebookWebsite

Special event

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Maximo Park – Nature Always Wins
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • I’m Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Black Bear
    ★★★★★
    Film festivals
  • Your Honor
    ★★★★★
    sky
  • Spotlight: Lauren Everet and Soup Kitchen London, striving for food security and social equality
    Food & Drinks
  • Petite Maman
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Celebrate International Women’s Day with a Bombay Sapphire Cocktails & Create masterclass
    Food & Drinks
  • Postdata – Twin Flames
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Late Night Staring at High Res Pixels
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Daniel Brühl on his directorial debut Next Door: “It was magical; I didn’t get a ‘no’ from anyone.”
    Berlinale
  • Moxie
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Souad
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • We (Nous)
    ★★★★★
    Berlinale
  • Bicep at Saatchi Gallery Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Winter Lake
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

London Film Festival 2015: Der Nachtmahr | Review
London Film Festival 2015: Son of Saul | Review