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 & 1 nomination.

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

Märta's near-sightedness is mentioned in the dialogue when she says that without her glasses, Tomas appears fuzzy to her. He even counts her nearsightedness as one of the things he hates about her. But the lenses she wears appear to be of clear glass.

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Quotes

Tomas Ericsson, Pastor: [looking up at the church's crucifix] What a ridiculous image.

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Connections

Referenced in Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work (1998)

User Reviews

The closest thing to a perfect film I've ever seen

It's a real shame that you are unlikely to find this movie in your local video rental store. It's relentlessly concentrated, uncompromising and beautiful. It's paced slowly at the beginning, drawing the viewer in, but repays the effort you put in (and it's pretty short).

The story focuses on a disillusioned priest in a remote village who is unable to accept the love offered him by Marta, his friend, and unable to offer the conviction of his faith to save a fisherman from suicide. There are several hidden references to the crucifixion: the time covered in the movie (noon to 3 pm) is the same as the time Jesus spent on the cross; the location of Marta's skin disease corresponds to the "stigmata" or wounds from the nails.

I can't recommend this film strongly enough. Every time I see it I am stunned by the beauty and meaning in every single frame.