The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

Persona
183
with Liv Ullmann. His wish, or at least his fantasy for this actress in
Persona, he ends up living. Do you think that’s an impulse that a lot
of artists share? That desire to be isolated? Brando had his own island
as well.
Egoyan: Yeah. I think that it’s a result of feeling completely overwhelmed
by other pressures and social responsibilities. If at that point the mythology
of Bergman was such that he felt it was something he had to retreat from—I
can understand that impulse.
I’ve never really entertained the idea of complete isolation. But I’ve never
been exposed to the degree of scrutiny and speculation that those artists
have. I need to be connected to the world. I was raised on an island, Vancouver
Island, so I don’t really have much of an island fantasy.
Especially if you were born on one. If you were born on the frontier,
you don’t go back to the frontier.
Egoyan: [laughing] Right! But the fantasy that I certainly find compelling is
having a small artisanal crew and a group of actors who are really committed.
Also, the ability to dictate the means of your own production. That was
made possible to Bergman because of the state funding of the Swedish film
industry. That type of film is the product of a certain kind of support, and
that was very inspiring to me. Up until recently, in Canada, we had some
semblance of that, but I think that’s changing as well.
Critic Andrew Sarris called Bergman “essentially an artist in an ivory
tower in an isolated country.” Do you think that’s a fair statement? Or
is he fundamentally misunderstanding something?
Egoyan: I do think that’s the way those films were made. They were not
subject to the types of criteria held for most films. And I think that’s great. It
means that Bergman was able to act very impulsively. He was able to have a
very intimate relationship to the form, and he was able to avoid other pressures
or influences, which would’ve compromised what he was doing.
In the film industry, whether or not one is granted that freedom is a real
issue. With the exception of experimental filmmakers who are working on
their own, you’re usually working in the dramatic form, and there are all
sorts of people you need to convince and seduce to get your product made.