Parents' Guide to Bergman Island

Even kids who are making their own digital shorts and videos aren't likely to have much to latch on to here, a fact that's compounded by the subtlety and maturity of the storytelling. Mia Hansen-Løve's love letter to Ingmar Bergman and the craft of filmmaking is perfect fodder for a film festival screening with a heady post-film discussion for intellectual creative types, but it falls short on entertainment value outside of that context. Because it includes a film within a film to show how a screenplay is crafted, viewers can see how writers pull from real-life situations, surroundings, emotions, frustrations, and influences -- until eventually it's not always clear what's "real" and what's fiction. Walking further down the path into the origin point of creative concepts, Hansen-Løve's own process also had her going to Fårö, staying in one of Bergman's homes, and having some of the same conversations that her characters do with those who work at the Bergman Foundation.

On the surface, it seems like almost nothing is actually happening in Bergman Island. Chris and Tony's relationship is at a crossroads that even they aren't aware of -- and certainly aren't talking about. They have the comfort of a long-married couple but aren't 100% on the same page. But, unlike in Bergman's iconic Scenes from a Marriage, there are no fights here, just slights. And it's not a story of female empowerment as much as female identity, with Chris trying to find her footing outside of the shadow of a more successful husband -- and her character, Amy (Mia Wasikowska), grappling with the pull of a still-burning love. Some adults may find the movie's small moments relatable, but many may see it as a groggy waste of time.