Winter Light
by Ingmar Bergman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Allan Edwall, Gunnar Bj?rnstrand, Gunnel Lindblom, Ingrid Thulin, Max von SydowDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Editor: Ulla Ryghe
Producer: Allan Ekelund
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Swedish (Original Language), Unknown; Swedish (Unknown), Unknown; English (Subtitled)
Format: PAL
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 81 minutes
Movie Reviews of Winter Light
Movie Review: I love it when a director realizes that less can be so much more...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been steadily becoming a huge Ingmar Bergman fan, and my adoration for him grows with almost every new film I see of his. With `Nattvardsgasterna' (or `Winter Light' for us English speakers) he has turned that adoration into full blown love. The film is delightfully simple yet undeniably profound. Bergman effortlessly delivers to us a remarkable tale of faith (or lack thereof) and the heavy weight that it can bring down on a person.
The film takes place over a single day, in between a morning and an evening sermon. Tomas Ericsson, the Pastor at a small (and rapidly dwindling) church is battling his own inner demons (his faith is a subject of major debate) but he is still called upon by a local parishioner who feels as though his anxieties have gotten the better of him. Fearing a nuclear holocaust will befall him, he craves to end his life. Unable to help him, Ericsson is soon troubled by knowledge that this young man did indeed take his life, causing the Pastor to confront his internal struggles head on in the films brilliant second half.
Not only is the Pastor dealing with his personal relationship with God, but he has to contend with the affections of the local schoolteacher, Marta Lundberg. His relationship with Marta is complicated (there love is a bitter one), and this is brought to a head as they confront each others feelings head on.
Their final confrontation is as brutal as they come.
The performances here really make this film a must see. Both Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Bjornstrand are flawless, captivating the audience by creating two very human portraits. It has been stated that Bjornstrand in particular loathed the character of Tomas, but I feel that it was in that loathing that this tremendous tour-de-force was born. You can see the struggle on his face to accept who he is, and that struggle is not forced but a very real interpretation. Perhaps it is the depiction of Gunnar's own struggle with accepting this character, but the turmoil that is present is beyond words. Thulin is also a force here as the conflicted and confused Marta. Her desires for Tomas are destroying her internally, and she wears that very well.
Like I said, their final confrontation is devastating.
I want to also make a quick mention of Max von Sydow, who is all sorts of phenomenal here. He barely says a word, yet his performance is unforgettable. Such a rich and truly emotionally gut-wrenching portrayal of personal abandonment.
The film may be simple as far as actual plot points are concerned, but the emotional gamut runs very deep here. The subject of faith is attacked head on in a very subtle yet powerful manor. As Tomas battles his own hypocrisy we, the audience, are given the opportunity to relate (and yes, we can relate) to his plight. Religion is a huge part of life, but who has not at one time or another begun to doubt our faith? Bergman portrays that human struggle for closure masterfully here. There are few films so honest they make us ashamed of our feelings. This is one of those kinds of films.
Summary of Winter Light
Great Britain released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Swedish (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Subtitles), SYNOPSIS: On a cold winter's Sunday, the pastor of a small rural church (Tomas Ericsson) performs service for a tiny congregation; though he is suffering from a cold and a severe crisis of faith. After the service, he attempts to console a fisherman (Jonas Persson) who is tormented by anxiety, but Tomas can only speak about his own troubled relationship with God. A school teacher (Maerta Lundberg) offers Tomas her love as consolation for his loss of faith. But Tomas resists her love as desperately as she offers it to him. This is the second in Bergman's trilogy of films dealing with man's relationship with God. SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Production Notes, Scene Access, Trailer(s),Between 1961 and 1963, Ingmar Bergman released a remarkable trilogy of so-called chamber dramas, each one concerned with the futility of sustaining faith in God, family, love, or much else. The series proved transitional for the internationally renowned Swedish filmmaker, securing his crucial collaboration with cinematographer Sven Nykvist (with whom Bergman would go on to make his many masterpieces--including Persona and Cries and Whispers--of the '60s, '70s, and early '80s), and underscoring a new preference for intimate, relationship-driven stories, austere settings, and haunting tones of emotional isolation and despair.
Following Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light reunites Gunnar Bj?rnstrand, this time playing a pastor suffering a crisis of faith while ministering to a shrinking congregation, and Max Von Sydow as a parishioner lost to acute anxiety over the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. Neither man can help or heal the other, or even inspire renewed confidence in practiced rituals and older, more certain views of the world. Set on a chilly, Sunday afternoon, Winter Light's heavy stillness, lack of music, preference for intense close-ups and distancing long shots, and barren setting all lead us inescapably into the core of a profound silence, an echo chamber in which love can't grow and religion rings hollow. The trilogy concludes with The Silence. --Tom Keogh
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