Through a Glass Darkly (1961) Såsom i en spegel (original title)

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Release Date:

16 October 1961 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young woman, Karin, has recently returned to the family island after spending some time in a mental hospital...

Plot Keywords:

Psychoanalysis | Reference To God | Electroshock Therapy | Mental Illness | Father In Law

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Harriet Andersson	...	Karin
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	David
Max von Sydow	...	Martin
Lars Passgård	...	Minus

Directed by
Ingmar Bergman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ingmar Bergman

Produced by
Allan Ekelund	....	producer

Original Music by
Erik Nordgren		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Sven Nykvist

Film Editing by
Ulla Ryghe

Production Design by
P.A. Lundgren

Costume Design by
Mago

Makeup Department
Börje Lundh	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lenn Hjortzberg	....	assistant director

Art Department
Karl-Arne Bergman	....	property master

Sound Department
Staffan Dalin	....	sound
Stig Flodin	....	sound

Special Effects by
Evald Andersson	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Rolf Holmquist	....	assistant camera
Peter Wester	....	assistant camera

Other crew
Ulla Furås	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Distributors

• Janus Films (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Moskwood Media (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Gutek Film (2007) (Poland) (all media)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

"Såsom i en spegel" - Sweden (original title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X | UK:15 (video rating) (1993) | Australia:M | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

The first Ingmar Bergman film to be made on the island of Faro. Bergman would later buy a home on the island.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Minus paints the chair, the amount of paint on the chair changes between shots.

Quotes:

Fredrik:I'm an artist.
Karin:Artist?
Fredrik:Yes, Princess, a thoroughbred artist: a poet with no poems, a painter with no pictures, a musician with no music. I despise ready... made art, the banal result of vulgar effort. My life is my work and dedicated to my love for you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Andromeda: Through a Glass, Darkly (#5.11)" (2005)

absolutely touching and penetrating, tragic and sad

this is one of bergman's most serious and devastating, sometimes horribly depressing and (it's only flaw) a little too heavy handed for even the toughest and healthiest viewers. it is fascinating to watch bergman come to terms with the absence of god and man's tragic isolation in an indifferent universe through the art he uses like no one else could or does, the art of film. karin is a mentally disordered young woman, intensely loved by her family and well cared for but nonetheless subject to bouts of extreme madness and delusions of divinity that are so convincing and well performed as to be hard to watch (particularly the scene where she is convinced that a deity disguised as a spider is going to crawl out of a closet). although it ends on a semi hopeful note, the film's atmosphere is largely one of sterility, emotional dryness, impoverishment and despair. karin lives on an isolated island just as we inhabit a vast, incomprehensible universe that is essentially little but a doomed speck of dust in a monstrous cosmos that does not care. i think there can be little debate as to the correct interpretation of this movie, which is the utter void at the center of false human beliefs and illusions of happiness or omnipotence. order is a lie and religious belief is founded on deliberate self deception. a masterpiece of the most passionate artistry and integrity.