Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Ingmar Bergman, 1918-2007

• Devon B

  
  The entire film takes place over a three hour period one afternoon in a cold and lonely swedish village. Tomas is the preacher at a church where attendance has dwindled so much it can be counted on one hand. But it's difficult to expect people to come hear someone preach when… More
  The entire film takes place over a three hour period one afternoon in a cold and lonely swedish village. Tomas is the preacher at a church where attendance has dwindled so much it can be counted on one hand. But it's difficult to expect people to come hear someone preach when his own faith lacks conviction. Pastor Tomas has the "old schoolmarm" (played by Ingrid Thulin- who was 37 at the time) looking after him... well, actually the two are having an affair, albeit a rather passionless one. Even though she loves Tomas deeply, he refuses to return her love, as he's still mourning the loss of his wife. In one scene, Tomas tells a suicidal parishioner about his time spent on the battlefield during the war, where he witnessed brutality that contradicted everything God represented to him until his God became a compartmentalized, secret thing that only his wife could really help him to understand. It's his mistress who wants to fill that void in his life, but Tomas can only mire himself in what he calls "God's silence". With Winter Light, writer/director Ingmar Bergman tells a very basic, straightforward story that is wrought with painful and very real emotions. Like characters from many other Bergman films, pastor Tomas is so wrapped up in his own pain, so self-absorbed, he fails to have any empathy whatsoever to his fellow man. It's not so much his beliefs (or God) have failed him so much as he's failed his beliefs. There is much weakness in these characters, but also much strength. What does one do when they think they've uncovered some unalterable truth that everything they've believed in is a lie? How does a mind recover from unbearably naked revelations? Tomas tries so hard to maintain the lie he lives that the only logical result is the resentment of existence itself.

• Robert C

  
  Film number two in Bergman's "Silent God" trilogy. Very bleak, but thought provoking. I guess somethings will never change. Those who have religion seem to resent those for whome (because of logic and science) can not justify such beliefs. And those who shun… More
  Film number two in Bergman's "Silent God" trilogy. Very bleak, but thought provoking. I guess somethings will never change. Those who have religion seem to resent those for whome (because of logic and science) can not justify such beliefs. And those who shun religion seem to pitty those who are able to find contentment in their faith. We desperately try to convince ourselves (and others) that our beliefs are just, but ultimately is anyone ever TRULY AND COMPLETELY content in their beliefs? I believe that only a fool would answer yes to that question.

• Cassandra M

  
  This is a captivating film, one of Bergman's most inward-looking and cold pieces. The performances are terrific. Gunnar Bjornstrand is at his excellent best, Max von Syndow is predictably good. I would single out the women performers for particular praise in this film: Ingrid… More
  This is a captivating film, one of Bergman's most inward-looking and cold pieces. The performances are terrific. Gunnar Bjornstrand is at his excellent best, Max von Syndow is predictably good. I would single out the women performers for particular praise in this film: Ingrid Thulin is outstanding as the spinster who cannot break the ice that encloses Bjornstrand's pastor. Gunnel Lindblom plays a small but superb part as the desperate wife of the suicidal von Syndow. This is not plot and action stuff, nor is it any good for you if seeing depression in others makes you depressed. It is a microscope study of desperation and depression. It is a small canvas film ? my personal preference is for Bergman's larger canvas work such as The Seventh Seal and especially Wild Strawberries. Of his darker, psychological work, again I would express a preference for Persona and also Through a Glass Darkly. But I'm comparing greatness with greatness ? if you like Bergman's work this one's a must see.

• Bruce B

  
  This one is from the Criterion Collection. Again If your someone who enjoys rare films, the Criterion Collection is something you need to check out. Only 2 stars on this one as its very depressing. About a pastor who is in a slump, yea it happens. Girlfriend troubles, one of his sheep… More
  This one is from the Criterion Collection. Again If your someone who enjoys rare films, the Criterion Collection is something you need to check out. Only 2 stars on this one as its very depressing. About a pastor who is in a slump, yea it happens. Girlfriend troubles, one of his sheep commit suicide, what next. Worth renting but most Criterion Films are very high priced, and if you have a limit, I would just do a rental.

• Ken S

  
  a beautiful film about the silence of god

• danny d

  
  interesting diologue but slow and unconvincing. done by bergman in an era of his life where diologue was everything, this film was saturated with talk but lacked many other things that carry a film. this didnt even effectively raise the questions it appeared that it was trying to… More
  interesting diologue but slow and unconvincing. done by bergman in an era of his life where diologue was everything, this film was saturated with talk but lacked many other things that carry a film. this didnt even effectively raise the questions it appeared that it was trying to raise. the shots in this film were good and the acting was the best part.

• Dillon L

  
  Loss of faith and the silence of god - subject matter that makes this movie, in a word, fascinating.

• Chris B

  
  More an atmospheric film than a story driven film like the first of the Faith Trilogy, it conveys a dark and deeply deep look into man's search and understanding of what and how God interacts with mankind. Touching upon hopelessness and despair between man and the silences of God… More
  More an atmospheric film than a story driven film like the first of the Faith Trilogy, it conveys a dark and deeply deep look into man's search and understanding of what and how God interacts with mankind. Touching upon hopelessness and despair between man and the silences of God that most of us endure at some point during our lives. A very hard film to watch but one worth doing so!

• Simeon D

  
  After watching The Seventh Seal and La Strada, I urged myself to step deeper into the realm of European cinema. But how to begin? I had 8 1/2, La Avventura, and Through a Glass Darkly lined up on a table, and this one looked like an easy one to start out with. I was originally… More
  After watching The Seventh Seal and La Strada, I urged myself to step deeper into the realm of European cinema. But how to begin? I had 8 1/2, La Avventura, and Through a Glass Darkly lined up on a table, and this one looked like an easy one to start out with. I was originally persuaded to see this while reading the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "A Confederacy of Dunces", where the main character mentions a Swedish film about a preacher who loses his soul; which he heard was quite good. Out of the four movies, Winter Light was the shortest, and so I decided to watch it. Here's what I though: Winter Light is a Swedish film directed by Igmar Bergmann, the director of The Seventh Seal, and it builds off of the same theme and philosophy as the latter. That idea being "God is not tangible, hence he does not exist". In The Seventh Seal, that philosophy is shown through an imaginative and crafty medieval story, but here it's shown through a very small scale character piece. It seemed like there wasn't much of anything new that was added onto the whole concept of having an existentialist crisis, and in a whole it simply reiterated everything that happened in The Seventh Seal, just without the creativity. Gunnar Bjornstrand stars as a preacher who has lost his faith in God. Over the course of a day, he finds that he must convince a man (Max Von Sidow) of the existence of God, argue with his lover (Ingrid Thulin) about his feelings towards existence, and battle the flu. The central focus is on the preacher, who you can tell, in the beginning as he's giving a sermon, that he has something on his mind which makes him uneasy. After the sermon he sort of awkwardly states that he doesn't believe in God, and from there he finds himself tormented with that thought. The ending (not to give anything away) was extremely abrupt and anything but satisfying. It's a very quiet, small, uneventful character piece that relies heavily on Bjornstrand's acting. He delivers some visible inner turmoil, and appears to be scolding everything. He seemed unfamiliar with any other emotions, which matched his character, but almost to an inhuman extent. Max Von Sidow doesn't do much and acts very timid. Ingrid Thulin gives an all-out performance that dominates the screen and captures the essence of the film. On a technical standpoint, I was surprised at how utterly dull and dreary everything was. The nearly the entire film took place in a church and consisted of several characters delivering monologues, and that being said; Bergmann's camera-work did manage to do a lot with very little; though there wasn't anything visually poignant, the frequent use of close-ups, angles, shadows, and detailed scenery made it a compelling experience. To add to this atmosphere, there isn't a musical score or any yelling, so the entire film is very quiet. If you're prone to falling asleep while watching films, then I definitely would not recommend this. This dismalness brings me onto my next point: The films starts out very slow, and it continues that pace until the very end, and I have to say: it bugged me. The existential crisis was somewhat predictable and there were no philosophical points made that made me gasp. In a sense I could say that it was "though-provoking", but everything said in Winter Light is covering ground already tread on by The Seventh Seal. One thing I do have to praise Bergmann on is the tension: every character seems to be suppressing some hidden scar, and then when they finally burst with confession, it describes their character perfectly. The silent atmosphere, the close-ups, the deep performances, and the glacial pace all benefit this aspect of the film, and in that light make Winter Light succeed. Igmar Bergmann's bleak and depressing character piece about a preacher without faith in God is artistically resonate and obtusely paced, and is with a subtle existentialist wrath. 78/100

• Dimitris S

  
  Coming into the second bleakness of the trilogy,a clarification and a distant remorse,Gunnar Bjornstrand gives acting lessons and the limits of breakthrough and Deity create a fruitful bond of knowledge.Well,and unsurpassed atheism.

• Anthony V

  
  Part of the trilogy including The Silence and Through The Glass Darkly. Although The Silence is my favorite, debating which of these movies is better is like debating the color of your winning lottery check.

• Tom S

  
  One of the most amazing qualities of Bergman's films, and this one especially, is that so much more is happening in your mind than on the screen, and yet you can't take your eyes off it.

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