Winter Light (1963)

A small town priest struggles with his faith.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Gunnel Lindblom

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ingrid Thulin	...	Märta Lundberg
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Tomas Ericsson
Gunnel Lindblom	...	Karin Persson
Max von Sydow	...	Jonas Persson
Allan Edwall	...	Algot Frövik
Kolbjörn Knudsen	...	Knut Aronsson
Olof Thunberg	...	Fredrik Blom
Elsa Ebbesen	...	Magdalena Ledfors

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

atheist | loss of faith | winter | priest | existentialism | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

5 April 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Winter Light

Filming Locations:

Rättvik, Dalarnas län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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Goofs

When Tomas leaves the church to go to the scene of the suicide there is a lot of snow on his car and on the ground. But, when he arrives at the scene, the car is clean and there is no sign of snow on the ground.

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Quotes

Märta Lundberg, Schoolteacher: God has never spoken because God doesn't exist. It's as simple as that.

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Connections

Follows Through a Glass Darkly (1961)

User Reviews

Love, God and Silence

In the cold winter in the countryside of Sweden, the pastor Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar Björnstrand) is a bitter man living a crisis of lack of faith in God after the death of his beloved wife two years ago. After the mass, Karin Persson (Gunnel Lindblom) seeks out the pastor with her husband, the fisherman Jonas Persson (Max von Sydow), and tells that Jonas is tormented by an existential crisis when he learns that China has an atomic bomb and intends to commit suicide. Tomas unsuccessfully attempts to comfort Jonas but he is not convincing due to his lack of faith and Jonas kills himself with a shot of rifle in his head. Meanwhile, the schoolteacher Märta Lundberg (Ingrid Thulin) is in love with Tomas, but the widowed pastor rejects her love with bitter and tough words. In the end, Tomas discusses with the sacristan the true suffering of Jesus Christ in the Passion of Christ.

"Nattvardsgästerna" is the second part of Bergman's Trilogy of Silence with an unpleasant story of unrequited love, lack of communication and lack of faith on God. The pastor Tomas Ericsson is one of the bitterest characters that I have ever seen, and his speech to Märta Lundberg is one of the cruelest and coldest of a man to a woman in love. The performances are awesome as usual in a Bergman's film, with wonderful black-and-white cinematography, and this cold film does not have soundtrack. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Luz de Inverno" ("Light of Winter")