Educational Media Reviews Online

Carl-Gustaf Nykvist's devoted yet reserved tribute to his father takes the form of a biography with voice-over narration. One of the narrators speaks for Sven Nykvist, as his voice, describing events in his life as Nykvist developed progressive aphasia in 1998 affecting his linguistic capacity and effectively ending his career as a cinematographer.

Sven Nykvist's art comes through in his images. In reverence to him, his son counterbalances shots of his mostly solitary father in the present, bicycling through lush countryside, walking to his snowy pier, watching his acceptance speech for winning the Academy Award for best cinematography in 1973 for Cries and Whispers (dir. Ingmar Bergman), with clips from interviews of people who have worked with him as well as home movies, personal photographs, production stills and behind-the-scenes footage.

Nykvist's most important collaborator was Ingmar Bergman with whom he made 20 films. Bergman is also the most articulate and incisive contributor to piecing together the fabric of one of the most significant cinematographers of the 20th century. Bergman's point, which he has made in numerous interviews in the past, is that cinematography's most important achievement is conquering the face. The camera sees much more than does a director and Nykvist's deep intuitive feel for the human face, coupled with his ability to use the energy of lighting while creating numerous levels of visual experience have greatly affected and influenced his contemporaries. Cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs reveals how Nykvist's close-ups greatly affected him and allowed him to read into the soul of the character on the screen. Cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno mentions how the close-ups in Persona (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1966) gave more meaning to the film through their photography.

Although Bergman and Nykvist never had a personal friendship outside of their working relationship, there was an intimate sense of parallel minds, feeling and thinking the same way in their film collaborations. Roman Polanski was impressed with how he could be a good friend on a hectic set, and Woody Allen mentions that his crew is always happy to work with Nykvist because they know the visual quality will be high without emotional strain. He is said to be able to adjust to anything except when it comes to his art, then he demands that others adjust to his vision. Apparently, he had difficulty in communicating with Andrei Tarkovsky because they did not have the same visual sensibility.

Actors talk about getting mental balance from him. One of the most moving sequences is the inclusion of an out-take from Something to Talk ABout (dir. Lasse Hallstrom, 1995, working title: Kings of Carolina), in which Julia Roberts breaks out of character in a shot and announces that it is Sven's birthday. Off-camera, the crew join her to sing Happy Birthday as the camera operator swish pans for Sven's obviously touched reaction. It is clear that he is admired by the industry, having helped the art of cinematography become more international during his tenure. The footage of Nykvist receiving numerous awards simply seems extraneous in this homage to a very reserved and modest man. As a documentary film, the problem of identifying speakers only once may cause confusion as to who is on screen as the film advances. As a biography, the film captures the essence of the man who, like his missionary father, spent too much time away from his family and had to live with the guilt of the dissolution of his marriage and his youngest son's suicide. The essence of the artist is alluded to in clips from interviews, too many of which, like the one featuring Melanie Griffith in which she calls him "amazing" and "cool", have more to do with star recognition than actual content. We learn what he did, but not the technicalities of how he did it or why he did it the way he did. His voice now lost leaves us only with his unforgettable images. It is somewhat appropriate in his case that his pictures are worth more than thousands of words. Recommended for general areas of film study.

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