My friend Shirley sent me a copy of The New Yorker the other day, and in it, I found an essay about Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light. The film, which is in Swedish with subtitles, was made in 1962. It is considered the second in a trilogy of films Bergman made on humanity and God, the first being Through a Glass Darkly and the third being The Silence.
Winter Light, which is only 80 minutes long, is the story of a pastor, Tomas, who has lost his beloved wife, and with her, his faith. After his wife’s death, Tomas becomes involved with Marta, an atheist, whose lack of faith mirrors his own and thus sickens him. Even though Tomas brutally dismisses Marta, the two seemed locked in a tormented relationship they cannot escape. When a distraught parishioner, Jonas, seeks Tomas’s counsel, Tomas, himself so depressed, cannot even summon the energy to persuade Jonas not to take his own life.
I think what is most striking about this film is there is a glimmer of hope at the end, but Bergman’s genius is that we’re unsure of whether that glimmer has substance or whether it is only our own longing that causes us to believe that all will be well. For more on Winter Light, go to Wikipedia. Better yet, go to your library and check out a copy of the video. You may not know exactly what to make of Bergman’s film, but you won’t quickly forget it.
Tags: Bergman, Film, Winter Light
