Fanny and Alexander

This comment is for the television version. Bergman's send off in film isn't a compilation of everything he has done in film, but his a majestic look back at all the facets of childhood. The first episode is a vivid recreation of the ideal childhood. Bergman is the imaginer by creating a gorgeous set for a fantastic family christmas celebration. The visuals compliment the fantastic characters. I say fantastic because in Bergman's auto-biography, none of the characters really match any relative he talked about. The major piece of the first episode is the Magic Lantern that adhorned Bergman's own childhood and allowed him to dream of filmmaking at a very young age. It symbolizes the best memories and dreams that decorate the first episode. The later episodes deal with the death of the father and the children bearing life under the rule of a chaplain as their new father. The character has no likabilities of their real father, but he does match Bergman's own father well. The scope, enjoyment and imagination of Fanny and Alexander suffice enough for fufillment, but if a comment is to be made it is that Bergman looked back at childhood and tried to recollect the best elements he knew from his life and imagination but in the lifetime of Bergman, no memory was just pleasant. Every one had a jolt of pain. The later episodes are not just jolts, but reflections by Bergman on true feelings. The imagination has to have a dance with the realistic and painful. This has been part of even the lightest Bergman films. The fact the film ventures to sadder and drepressing subject matter also makes this memory by Bergman a complete one. He takes an exhausting look back and says as much as he can within a film. We can only thank him for making his last hurrah a defining memory that still stands tall to this day.