Bergman vs Antonioni

I always wonder the symbolic meaning for the two great directors to be passed away at almost the same time (although Bergman's death was announced almost 2 weeks after he actually passed away).
Bergman is certainly one of the first directors I become admired of when I first watched his film, Persona on the big screen, as part of the film appreciation course. I still remember how instructor talked about their master/slave relationship that Bergman tried to impose to the film. It is a relationship which you can apply to many other types of relationships, whether it is between a nurse and patient, or a husband and his wife. Indeed, to read his film in such detailed level made me feel excited. The conflict, the confrontation, the forgiveness surrounding all his characters in him, whether it is between a woman and a man or, a man and a god/death. There were always conversations, sometimes long yet heavy, which intensify the story and more important the theme/message behind his film. It is true that Bergman himself found it very difficult to watch his own film because it will certainly bring tears to him and to this end, I can't agree more..even until his very last film, Saraband, which again I had the privilege to watch it on a large screen.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/bergman/0,,2137802,00.html

Antonioni was on the other hand, quite the opposite when it is comes to my own cinema experience with him. Again, it was in a film appreciation course which I began to realise his work. L'Avventura was the first film I watched on a small video screen in class...it was as puzzling as the story can be, with one of the protangist disappear in the middle of the film. I guess I would have the same feeling as those sitting in the cinema during the 1960 Cannes film festival, only to realise that we have just witnessed one of the greatest work of all time. I admire his film because it depicts the distance of modern relationhship in such a way that it is hanutingly beautiful yet extremely cool. I stil remember towards the end of Antonioni's L'Eclisse, the shots of empty streets, vacant modernism buildings and structure, was a stern reminder about the distance/gap between the relationship of the protagonist, no matter how close they are. The loneliness and solitude creeps in. Being an fan of WKW, his style of films about solitude strike a resemblance, if not similarity, to Antonioni films. Moreover, the use of Maggie Cheung/Monica Vitti, whom they become my all time favourites on screen (they looks similar I have to admit), almost represents the same kind of "tragic" female protagonist.

I haven't watched too many of Antonioni films apart from his earlier/more famous works. It is a sad thing to see great directors like him followed a path in which a lot of great directors had gone, to become a bit too much self-indulgence to his own success and not able to sustain their work at the similar level as they were young. The last of his film which I watch was the 3 part films, Eros, which WKW also involved in one of the stories...which turn out to be much better than that of his "master".

http://film.guardian.co.uk/antonioni/0,,2138438,00.html