Sunday, June 21, 2020

Let summer nest in my hair!

Me reflected in a mural a few blocks from the thrift store:


A favorite movie for this time: Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night.
I was delighted --by a sense of fellow feeling---to read that Berman made it when he was deeply depressed---it was either make this film or commit suicide, he said.
(Or did he always feel that?)

Looking for stills from the film, I stumbled upon a quote I've searched for for ages---I couldn't remember it exactly, and I'd mistakenly thought it was in Wild Strawberries.

"One can never protect a single human being from any kind of suffering."
Seeing this old woman say this had helped me when I was young. 
(I'd clarify that we can save people "pain"––we can, say, catch a hand reaching for a hot stove–– but "suffering" is an internal condition we cannot directly protect one another from.)

I also love the young man who is trying so hard to be sin-free for God––inspired by Martin Luther's You cannot keep birds from flying over your head; but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair
––
but finally gives in entirely: "Let the birds nest in my hair!"

2 comments:

Linda Sue said...

A bawdy comedy is better than depression, Proof! I have not watched the movie in it's entirety - The visuals are gorgeous! Maybe today is the day to watch all of it. Feeling blue-ish.

"in love as in horseback riding, if you are thrown, remount before you become frightened." ---Another apt quote from "Smiles".

Absolutely LOVE the photo of you in the artwork!

Steve Reed said...

I haven't seen that movie in ages, but I have yet to see a Bergman movie that didn't impress me.