Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries)

1957, Ingmar Bergman, Sweden, 91 min., Swedish with English subtitles

Introduced by energetic healer Linda Gnat-Mullin

Zodiac: Libra (ruled by Venus—in Astrology, the strawberry is considered a feminine plant and is governed by Venus)

Traveling to accept an honorary degree, Professor Isak Borg—masterfully played by veteran director Victor Sjöström—is forced to face his past, come to terms with his faults, and make peace with the inevitability of his approaching death. Through flashbacks and fantasies, dreams and nightmares, Wild Strawberries dramatizes one man’s remarkable voyage of self-discovery. This richly humane masterpiece, full of iconic imagery, is a treasure from the golden age of art-house cinema and one of the films that catapulted Ingmar Bergman to international acclaim.

“This is one of the truly outstanding works of post-war European cinema. Ingmar Bergman’s allegorical road-movie slips between present and past, dream and reality to explore the external and internal worlds of its ageing central character.”

—Tom Dawson, BBC

About Cabaret Cinema: Dreams & Prophecy

Inspired by the Astro Poets, the whimsical astrologers beloved by the Twitterverse, Cabaret Cinema looks beyond the stars of Hollywood to the stars in the sky this summer. Twelve films aligned with the signs of the zodiac ensure there’s something for everyone. Whether you were born under a Black Moon or Sans Soleil, come see what the cinema of the past portends for the future.

About the Introducer

Linda Gnat-Mullin is a Reiki Master and the founder of Energetic Empowerment®. Since 2001, she has helped hundreds of clients find greater authenticity and create change in their lives. As a member of the visiting faculty of Cancer Care, Inc., Linda has also offered Reiki to World Trade Center workers in 2001, and in recent years to US military veterans, emergency medical teams and survivors of Hurricane Sandy, the FDNY, old rock n’ rollers at Madison Square Garden, and at schools, hospitals, NGOs, and more. Author of a spiritual memoir, Kisses Out of the Blue, Linda lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Michael.