One of Bergman's warmest, and therefore finest films, this concerns an elderly academic - grouchy, introverted, dried up emotionally - who makes a journey to collect a university award, and en route relives his past by means of dreams, imagination, and encounters with others. … It's filled with richly observed characters and a real feeling for the joys of nature and youth. And Sjöström - himself a celebrated director, best known for his silent work (which included the Hollywood masterpiece The Wind) - gives an astonishingly moving performance as the aged professor. As Bergman himself wrote of his performance in the closing moments: "His face shone with secretive light, as if reflected from another reality … It was like a miracle."

Geoff Andrew, Time Out, 2006

The doctor's memory, involving wild strawberries, becomes one of the most memorable scenes in the film. It sharpens his awareness that somewhere along the way he has lost sight of the ideals of his youth. The wild strawberries remind him of the simple joys of life which he has neglected in favor of intellectual pursuits.

The idea for the film came to Bergman after a predawn drive on the E 4, as he traveled north from Stockholm to Dalarna. When he passed his hometown of Uppsala, he was overcome with a desire to stop and see his grandmother's home. As he walked into the house, he asked himself "What if I could suddenly walk into my childhood?"

Emenuel Levy, 2007