At 80, Max von Sydow remains as much in demand as he ever was. In 2009 alone, he will appear in no fewer than three upcoming films, which characteristically blend big-budget action/adventure, heavy drama and small-scale, foreign-language: the fantasy action movie Solomon Kane, Martin Scorcese's Oscars '10-tipped Shutter Island, and Oscar et la dame Rose, produced in Max's adopted home - France. There are also rumours of a – much overdue, surely? – documentary about his life by his son Cedric. Max now even has a Facebook fan group.
Retrospectives of his work this year seem likely; his range, prolific canon and continued output mark him as a very suitable subject for them, being much more dexterous than even his revered associate Ingmar Bergman, whose death in 2007 marked a watershed. Max stands almost alone among the actors of his generation, as both someone whose gravitas commands attention on screen and praise from the critics yet also as someone who has not given up. He has said he has never intended to retire as long as the roles are good enough, which thankfully they often are.
Despite some muttered criticism for his recent choice of 'Rush Hour 3', Max continues to be seen in a variety of roles. His sheer force of presence was perhaps most eloquently attested by his two scenes in the acclaimed 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly', in which few minutes of screen time he delivered the film's emotional punch-line.
In his ninth decade, Max von Sydow – arguably most famous since its 1973 release for his performance as the eponymous Exorcist of about his age now – suits his years, I think. In fact, as an octogenarian, he gives the impression of always having been that age. Perhaps because his authority is so effortless, his ever-expressive countenance embodying a true Everyman of his times; one that I and many others – of any age – can profoundly relate to, be it as a model of strength to which to aspire; or as a portrayer of weakness, and the universal struggle to master it. Each performance resonates like his inimitable baritone.
So, some ten years after I myself first discovered Max in his sumptuously dastardly rendition of the definitive Emperor Ming, in 1980's 'Flash Gordon', it is with real pleasure that (now a University graduate student) I witness the effect as the name 'Max von Sydow' never fails to turn a lack-lustre cinematic discussion into a heated debate of the widest variety of genres. Bergman alone can't do that. Nor, for that matter, can almost anyone else alive in film today. So, as the absentee webmaster of The Max von Sydow Shrine I would like to wish Mr. Von Sydow a very happy birthday this year and for many more to come.
Grattis på födelsedagen!
Campbell