This documentary is a hard pass. There are a few interview tidbits that are interesting (if nothing really new), but every scene, every move is counteracted by von Trotta's deep need for attention and recognition. I don't have a problem with filmmakers inserting themselves into their own documentary, but this is just ridiculous: She is front and center. And about half of the runtime is about her, not Bergman. How she was inspired to become a filmmaker because of Bergman, how she felt honored, because he liked a movie of hers forty years ago. It becomes unbearable very quickly.
If you want to watch a informative documentary about Bergman, avoid this production like the plague. There's some interesting information burried there, somewhere beneath the layers of self-promotion and self-congratulatory chest pounding, but it's simply not worth the effort. A better title would be "The wonderful filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta looks back on her greatest achievements (and there's Bergman)". I hated it.
If you want to watch a informative documentary about Bergman, avoid this production like the plague. There's some interesting information burried there, somewhere beneath the layers of self-promotion and self-congratulatory chest pounding, but it's simply not worth the effort. A better title would be "The wonderful filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta looks back on her greatest achievements (and there's Bergman)". I hated it.