wrote the scripts for most of his films and won awards for many of them. In the focus of his attention people's fates are
put. The people usually have a lot of problems. Bergman focuses attention on the fate of individuals, on their problems
and their search for life's meaning. Many of his»characters are isolated people who suffer from the harsh realities of the
cruel world in which they live. It is difficult to understand the majority of Bergman's films since the distinction between
reality and the world of the imagination is blurred.
S a m u e l s : Mr. Bergman, I'd like to start with a rather general question: If I were asked to cite a single reason for
your pre-eminence among film directors, I would point to your creation of a special world. You are, in fact, very much
like a writer. Why didn't you become one?
B e r g m a n : When I was a child, I suffered from an almost complete lack of words. My education was very rigid; my
father was a priest. As a result, I lived in a private world of my own dreams. I played with my puppet theatre.
S.: And —
B.: Excuse me. I had very few contacts with reality or channels to it. I was afraid of my father, my mother, my elder
brother — everything. Playing with this puppet theatre and a projection device I had was my only form of self-expression. I
had great difficulty with fiction and reality; as a small child I mixed them up so much that my family always said I was a liar.
S.: I want to interrupt you for just a moment. This description of your childhood resembles one classic description of the genesis
of a writer. Was it only the acqident of the puppet theatre that sent you the way of theatre rather than of books?
B.: No. When I began writing I liked it very much. But I never felt that writing was my cup of tea. And I always lacked words; it
has always been very difficult for me to find the word I want. I have always felt suspicious both of what I say and what others say to
me. I always feel something has been left out. When I read a book, I read very slowly. It takes me a lot of time to read a play.
S.: Do you direct it in your head?
B.: In a way. I have to translate the words into speeches, flesh and blood. I have an enormous need for contact with an audience,
with other people. For me, words are not satisfying.
S.: With a book, the reader is elsewhere.
B.: When you read, words have to pass through your conscious mind to reach your emotions and your soul. In film and theatre,
things go directly to the emotions. What I need is to come in contact with others.