Page 2 October 28, 2021
Entertainment
Check It Out Film Review
In Bergman Island, an Artist Couple
Express Their Love Through Film
By Morgan Rojas for Cinemacy
Do you love beautiful-looking arthouse
films? Are you prepared for a film to pluck
at your empathetic, tender heartstrings for
an hour and a half? Then Bergman Island–
a filmic love letter by French director Mia
Hansen-Løve (Eden) to famed Swedish director
Ingmar Bergman–is for you. Not only is
the film a respectful and enlightening look at
the late filmmaker’s career (whose seminal
works like The Seventh Seal and Persona
have no doubt inspired all of cinema), it is
also a reflection of melancholia and how
invisible things can cause real-life effects
within a couple.
Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps play Tony and
Chris, a filmmaker couple who embark on
the opportunity of a lifetime, attending an
artist’s residency in Fårö, a Swedish island
where Ingmar Bergman shot some of his
most celebrated films. Upon arriving at the
island, Chris (Krieps) immediately is suspicious
of its beauty, claiming that she finds
the island’s calm and perfection depressing.
The duo takes up residency in the house
where Bergman was said to have written the
screenplay of Scenes From a Marriage, the
film that “made millions of people divorce.”
Upon arriving, they immediately sense that
they are in the shadow of an idol. The pressure
for perfection intensifies the longer they
stay, however, Tony (Roth) seems to have no
trouble letting his ideas flow like running
water. Chris, on the other hand, struggles
with her unfinished screenplay.
Art imitates life in the second act of the
film, when Chris begins to share her work
in progress screenplay with Tony. Her words
come to life as we’re transported into her
pages and meet her protagonist, a young
filmmaker named Amy (Mia Wasikowska).
In Chris’s story, which she narrates, Amy is
forced to work through complicated emotional
entanglements when she runs into her first
love Joseph (Ander Danielsen Lie) on the
Fårö island. Amy’s struggles don’t seem so
far off from Chris’s, giving the impression that
Chris is working through her own struggles
via her surrogate protagonist.
Bergman Island has a lovely warmth to it.
It also has a sun-drenched breeziness that Call
Me by Your Name also perfectly captured.
Further, it’s enhanced by its transfixing harp
melodies and score by Raphaël Hamburger.
Not only do the idyllic coastlines elicit a
sense of calm, they also act as a mini-history
lesson for cinephiles young and old. Bergman
Island is a film lover’s movie, paying tribute
to an icon, by an up-and-coming icon.
Distributed by IFC Films, ‘Bergman Island’ is
now playing in theaters and available to rent. •
Bergman Island, courtesy of IFC Films.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
By Teen Reviewer Meilani Hollenbeck
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black exceeded
my expectations. The plot was captivating
from start to finish, so much so that I finished
the entire novel in one day. The story
focuses on Jude Duarte, a human girl who
was forced to live in the land of the fey after
her parents were murdered right in front of
her. Throughout the book, she is faced with
numerous obstacles starting with the cruel
Prince Cardan and his friends, who insist on
making her life as difficult as possible, along
with family drama and the burning desire
to create a place for herself in a world she
was thrust into.
A few qualities that I absolutely adore in
Jude are that she is headstrong, fierce, and
courageous. To state it simply, she is all that
a warrior and independent woman should be.
The only part of her character that I disliked
was her excessive thirst for power during
some parts, but this exception makes her feel
more realistic, given that she’s certainly not
without her flaws.
As for the other characters, my original
perceptions of them were far different from
my final opinions since, as with all things
faerie, not everything is what it seems. One
must read carefully and in between the lines
to avoid falling for their tricks and mind
games. Additionally, I appreciate the way that
each of the characters play a significant role
in the story, regardless of it being centered
around Jude. Consequently, some of them
become progressively more likable while
others transform into the worst version of
themselves.
This is a story of sudden twists and turns,
a fight for power, the challenges attached to
being royalty, magic, betrayal, and romance.
There were many events that took place that
I had predicted, along with some that were so
unexpected that my jaw immediately dropped
while reading. As such, it was lovely to experience
a book as enthralling and enchanting
as this one. I absolutely recommend The
Cruel Prince and the remainder of the series
to anyone that is a fan of the genre fantasy.
If you would like to contribute a teen
book review, please visit the El Segundo
Public Library’s Teen page, www.elsegundo.
org/services/teens, or contact Senior Librarian
Kristina Kora-Beckman at kbeckman@
elsegundo.org. •
Morgan Rojas
Meilani Hollenbeck
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
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