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Winter Light cover art

Winter Light Details

1962 Certificate PG
  • 70
  • from 1549 members

The second film of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy on religion and the loss of faith--the other two being THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY and THE SILENCE)--is an unrelentingly austere minimalist drama that takes place in a small village surrounded by a bleak, wintry landscape. Local pastor Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar Bjornstrand) has been left cold .. Read more

Starring Max von Sydow, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Bjrnstrand
Director Ingmar Bergman, Ingmar Bergman
Genres Drama, World Cinema

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Winter Light cover art

Winter Light

The second film of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy on religion and the loss of faith--the other two being THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY and THE SILENCE)--is an unrelentingly austere minimalist drama that takes place in a small village surrounded by a bleak, wintry landscape. Local pastor Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar Bjornstrand) has been left cold and hardened by the untimely death of his wife, his religious convictions severely shaken. He is incapable of offering counsel to a suicidal member of the congregation who comes to him for help, fisherman Jonas Persson (Max von Sydow), and cannot return the affection of schoolteacher Marta (Ingrid Thulin) after she confesses her love for him. The characters' anguish, isolation, and despair at the prospect of an absent or uncaring God are mirrored by the film's stark setting, flawlessly captured by cinematographer Sven Nykvist, in one of many collaborations with Bergman. While the figure of the stern, unfeeling clergyman was probably at least partially inspired by memories of the director's own father, a strict Lutheran minister, Bergman based his script on a true story told to him by a small-town parson who suffered from severe guilt after failing to talk one of his parishioners out of committing suicide.

Starring Max von Sydow, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Gunnar Bjrnstrand
Director Ingmar Bergman, Ingmar Bergman
Studio PALISADES TARTAN
Run time DVD: 1 hr 17 mins
Certificate Certificate PG
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: Swedish
Subtitles DVD: English
Released Production year: 1962

To Rent:
DVD: 19 Nov 2001

  • Critic's review of Winter Light

    View all critics' reviews (2)

    • 1 stars out of 4  

      In a sense almost parody Bergman; in another, one of his clearest statements of despair. The middle section of a pessimistic trilogy which also included Through a Glass Darkly and The Silence.

    • 31236

  • Most helpful member's review of Winter Light

    View all members' reviews (17)

    • Rated - 4.0 stars  

      • 14
      • 1

      Dark, Dark, Dark....

      It takes a certain sort of genius to sustain a film as unremittingly bleak as this, but be sure Bergman's the man to do it. In a community caught in the &#... read more »

      Report this review

    • 335096

  • Most recent members' reviews of Winter Light

    View all members' reviews (17)

    • Rated - 5.0 stars  

      • 0
      • 0

      Dark night, bright light

      As a complete fan of Bergman, it is always a pleasure to reach back into his earlier work and find another gem - as this one is. It is a close working of the ... read more »

      Report this review

    • 1093416

    • Rated - 4.0 stars  

      • 0
      • 0

      Gloomy but beautiful

      This film was beautifully shot in black and white. It was atmospheric and portrayed the hopelessness of relationships, which is typical of Ingmar Bergman's ... read more »

      Report this review

    • 765499

    • Rated - 5.0 stars  

      • 0
      • 0

      Stunning

      This film along with 'Scenes from a Marriage' and 'Autumn Sonata' is my favourite Bergman film so far (I've seen about 25 of his films). ... read more »

      Report this review

    • 695033
  • View all members' reviews (17)

  • News and features

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    Saraband

    Ingmar Bergman, 1918-2007

    • 31 Jul 2007

    See the entire LOVEFiLM Bergman Collection here Checkmate. Death has finally taken the great Swedish master, Ingmar Bergman, as he always knew it must. No filmmaker wrestled longer and more painfully with the knowledge of his own mortality. His father was a severe Lutheran minister, and a figure who cast a long shadow over Bergman's films, including his premature swansong, Fanny and Alexander (1982), and perhaps his purest masterpiece, Winter Light (1962), a portrait of a pastor who has lost... Read more

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1,549 Member ratings
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355
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281
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207
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68
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21

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    • Winter Light

    • Winter Light
      The second film of Ingmar Bergman's trilogy on religion and the loss of faith--the other two being THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY and THE SILENCE)--is an unrelentingly austere minimalist drama that takes place in a small village surrounded by a bleak, wintry landscape. Local pastor Tomas Ericsson (Gunnar ...

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