I watched this, Wild Strawberries, right after viewing of The Seventh Seal. Both films have extremely strong visuals and both deal with similar themes--Bergman remains convinced that there is nothing beyond death and hence his characters are symbolizations of the director's existential angst. However, while the characters in The Seventh Seal are archetypal and theatrical, Isaac Borg is extremely human. He is real and so are his emotions and sentiments (with which Bergman so passionately sympathizes). This makes the film touching and Borg's failures and triumphs become our own.
There is another review of this film by a customer (Brian Ridge), which claims that the reason he liked the film is because he is (or was) a film major, which makes it difficult for the rest of the "mainstream" to like this movie. He is mistaken, Bergman's films were very well recieved by the American "mainstream." Indeed, it was Bergman who pioneered the American foreign film market.
Secondly, the films which he names as being similar to this one are, quite frankly, just some movies by major international directors--Bunuel, Bergman, Kubrick, Allen, Scorsese, etc. These are all great directors but that does not make their cinema "similar." Each had their own cinematic concerns. The only similarity between these directors is that one does not need a film degree to appreciate them!
At the center of the film is the magnificent performance by celebrated Swedish director Victor Sjöström. Although not well known outside Scandinavia, Sjöström was one of the greatest Swedish directors before Bergman. After he ceased directing, he embarked on a distinguished career as an actor, but this, his final role before his death in 1960, is perhaps his finest role. Balancing Sjöström is the remarkably beautiful Bibi Andersson as Sara, the young girl he gives a lift to. In addition to the wealth of memories that are continually assaulting his psyche, it is the unexpected friendship he finds with Sara that seems to make possibly his redemption at the end of the film. Bergman regulars, such as Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, and Max von Sydow, fill out the rest of the cast.
