At the fifty-ninth Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård publicly criticized renowned director Ingmar Bergman for his early Nazi sympathies and manipulative behavior.

Speaking during a press conference, Skarsgård stated that Bergman was "a Nazi during the war" and claimed he was "the only person I know who cried when Hitler died." Skarsgård, who collaborated with Bergman in a nineteen eighty-six stage production of August Strindberg's "A Dream Play," described the director as manipulative and suggested he held a belief that some people were not equal to others.

Bergman, who passed away in two thousand seven, acknowledged his youthful admiration for Adolf Hitler in his nineteen eighty-seven autobiography, "The Magic Lantern." He recounted attending a Nazi rally in Weimar in nineteen thirty-four at the age of sixteen, describing Hitler as "unbelievably charismatic" and expressing that he was "delighted by Hitler’s success and saddened by his defeats" during the war.

Bergman maintained these views until the end of World War Two, when the revelation of Nazi atrocities led to a change in his perspective.

Skarsgård also discussed his complex relationship with Bergman, noting that while he considered him a talented director, he did not find him to be a pleasant individual.

He compared Bergman to other historical figures who, despite their artistic achievements, had questionable personal conduct.

Skarsgård's comments were made while promoting Joachim Trier's film "Sentimental Value," which premiered at the festival and is inspired by Bergman's work.