FAQ

78-year-old Swedish medical doctor and Professor Emeritus Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) travels from his home in Stockholm to accept an honorary degree at Lund University, about a 300-mile drive away. Along for the ride is his daughter-in-law Marianne (Ingrid Thulin), who has recently separated from her husband, Izak's son Evald (Gunnar Björnstrand). Along the way, they make a visit to the family's summer house and stop to see his mother (Naima Wifstrand), a cold and emotionally distant woman in her mid-90s, and Isak offers rides to several strangers, including young hitchhikers Sara (Bibi Andersson), Victor (Björn Bjelfvenstam), and Anders (Folke Sundquist), who are on their way to Italy, as well as a bickering married couple Sten (Gunnar Sjöberg) and Berit (Gunnel Broström) Alman. The many stops and encounters start Isak dreaming and reminiscing about his past and force him to confront the emptiness of his existence.

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman both wrote and directed Wild Strawberries.

The title of Wild Strawberries comes from the Swedish title Smultronstället, which translates as "wild strawberry patch". It is taken from a patch of wild strawberries in the yard outside of the Borg family's summer home where, in one of Isak's flashbacks, his cousin Sara is picking wild strawberries as a gift for their deaf Uncle Aron (Yngve Nordwall).

After attending the ceremony at Lund University, Isak returns to Evald's house and prepares for bed. He asks that Agda (Jullan Kindahl) call him by his first name, but she refuses, not wanting the intimacy. He hears music outside his window and, stepping out on the balcony, he sees Sara, Victor, and Anders serenading him and expressing their pride in knowing such a distinguished professor. As Isak is about to fall asleep, Evald and Marianne enter his bedroom and announce that they're going to attend a dance together, giving Isak the hope that they will reconcile.After Evald and Marianne leave the room, Isak begins to fall asleep thinking of memories of a family picnic by the lake. In the final scene, he rolls over and smiles.