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''Winter Light'' () is a 1963 Swedish
tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
film written and directed by
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
and starring his regulars, Gunnar Björnstrand,
Ingrid Thulin Ingrid Lilian Thulin (; 27 January 1926 – 7 January 2004) was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and in ...
and
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
. It follows Tomas Ericsson (Björnstrand), pastor of a small rural Swedish church, as he deals with an
existential crisis Existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning and confusion about one's personal identity. They are accompanied by anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one's normal funct ...
and his Christianity. The film is the second in a series of thematically related films, following '' Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961) and followed by '' The Silence'' (1963); this is sometimes considered a trilogy. In it, Bergman reconsiders ''Through a Glass Darkly''s argument that God is love, and repeated the prior film's reference to God as a monstrous spider. Bergman formed the story after speaking to a clergyman whose parishioner committed suicide. The film was shot in different locations in Sweden in 1962. Vilgot Sjöman's film '' Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie'' was made simultaneously with ''Winter Light'' and documents its production. The feature received positive reviews for its cinematography and themes.


Plot

In the final moments of Pastor Tomas Ericsson's noon
service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
, only a handful of people are in attendance, including fisherman Jonas Persson and his pregnant wife Karin, and Tomas's ex-mistress, the atheistic Märta. After the service, Tomas, though coming down with a cold, prepares for his three o'clock service in another town. Before he leaves, however, the Perssons arrive to speak to him. Jonas has become morose after hearing that China is developing an
atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...
. Tomas speaks to the man briefly, but asks Jonas to return after taking his wife home. No sooner have the Perssons left then substitute teacher Märta enters, and she attempts to comfort the miserable Tomas, and asks if he's read the letter she wrote to him. He has not, and tells her of his failure to help Jonas, and wonders if he will have anything to say, since he is without hope as well. Märta states her love for Tomas, but also her belief that he does not love her. She leaves, and Tomas reads her letter. In the letter, Märta describes Tomas's neglect of her, relating a story of how a
rash A rash is a change of the skin that affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cracke ...
that disfigured her body repulsed him, and neither his faith nor his prayers did anything to help her. She writes of how her family was warm and loving without religion, and expresses bewilderment at his indifference to Jesus. Tomas finishes the letter, and falls asleep. Awakened by the return of Jonas, Tomas clumsily tries to provide counsel, before finally admitting that he has no faith as well. He says his faith was an egotistical one – God loved humanity, but Tomas most of all. Serving in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
, Tomas could not reconcile his loving God with the atrocities being committed, so he ignored them. Tomas finally tells Jonas that things make more sense if we deny the existence of God, because then man's cruelty needs no explanation. Jonas leaves, and Tomas faces the
crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
and declares himself finally free. Märta, who has been lurking in the chapel, is overjoyed to hear this, and embraces Tomas, who again does not respond to her affections. They are interrupted by the widow Magdalena, who tells them that Jonas has just committed suicide with a rifle. Tomas drives, alone, to the scene, and stoically helps the police cover Jonas's body with a tarp. Märta arrives on foot, and she and Tomas drive off to her home, where she invites him in to take some medicine for his
cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...
. Waiting in Märta's classroom attached to her house, Tomas finally lashes out at her, telling her first that he rejected her because he was tired of the gossip about them. When that fails to deter her affections, Tomas then tells her that he was tired of her problems, her attempts to care for him, and her constant talking, and that Märta could never measure up to his late wife, the only woman he has ever loved. Though shocked by the attack, Märta agrees to drive with him to the Persson house. Informed of Jonas's suicide, Karin collapses onto the stairs and wonders how she and her children will go on. Tomas makes a perfunctory offer of help, and leaves. Arriving for the three o'clock service at the second church, Tomas and Märta find the building empty except for Algot, the handicapped sexton, and Fredrik, the organist. In the vestry, Algot questions Tomas about the Passion. Algot wonders why so much emphasis was placed on the physical suffering of Jesus, which was brief in comparison to the many betrayals he faced from his disciples, who denied his messages and commands, and finally from God, who did not answer him on the cross. He asks, "Wasn't God's silence worse?" Tomas, who has been listening silently, answers yes. Meanwhile, Fredrik tells Märta that she should leave the small town and Tomas and live her life, rather than stay and have her dreams crushed like the rest of them, but she chooses to start praying. Fredrik and Algot wonder if they should have a service since no one has shown up. Tomas still chooses to hold it, and the bells are rung. He begins the service reciting the ''Sanctus'': "Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full of your glory."


Cast

* Gunnar Björnstrand – Tomas Ericsson, pastor *
Ingrid Thulin Ingrid Lilian Thulin (; 27 January 1926 – 7 January 2004) was a Swedish actress and director who collaborated with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She was often cast as harrowing and desperate characters, and earned acclaim from both Swedish and in ...
– Märta Lundberg, schoolteacher * Gunnel Lindblom – Karin Persson *
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
– Jonas Persson *
Allan Edwall Johan Allan Edwall (25 August 1924 – 7 February 1997) was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films, such as ''Fanny and Alexander'' (1982). ...
– Algot Frövik, sexton * Kolbjörn Knudsen – Knut Aronsson, warden * Olof Thunberg – Fredrik Blom, organist * Elsa Ebbesen – Magdalena Ledfors, widow


Themes

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
identified previous films he had made with similar themes as '' The Virgin Spring'' (1960) and '' Through a Glass Darkly'' (1961). ''Winter Light'' is often considered the second film in a trilogy, following ''Through a Glass Darkly'' and completed by '' The Silence''. All three films focus on spiritual issues. Bergman writes, "These three films deal with reduction. ''Through a Glass Darkly'' – conquered certainty. ''Winter Light'' – penetrated certainty. ''The Silence'' – God's silence – the negative imprint. Therefore, they constitute a trilogy". He later retracted his claim the films form a trilogy. With ''Through a Glass Darkly'' ending with a discussion of how God is love, ''Winter Light'' further examines if understanding God is as simple as that. Bergman stated he abandoned the idea that love is proof of God because it was unsatisfactory to explain to a character who was suicidal over fear of nuclear war. The character Blom mocks the idea of God as love, attributing the words to Tomas but quoting the end of ''Through a Glass Darkly'' exactly. Tomas's loss of his wife, and his loss of his ability to love, is further proof to him that God has become silent. In contrast, the character Algot, presented as enlightened, equates Tomas's spiritual crisis with
sayings of Jesus on the cross The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words". The seven sayings ar ...
and God's "silence". Like ''Through a Glass Darkly'', ''Winter Light'' describes God as a " spider-god", with ''Winter Light'' explaining the metaphor when Tomas relates the spider-god to suffering, as opposed to his previous ideas of a God of love that provides comfort. The ending may mean Tomas has decided God does not exist, or that Tomas learns he must keep his faith because all Christians, including Jesus, grapple with God's silence. In Bergman's view, ''Winter Light'' represents the end of his study on whether God exists, after which human love became his main concern.


Production


Development

Director and screenwriter
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...
was inspired to make the film after talking to a clergyman, who related how he had offered spiritual advice to a fisherman who later killed himself. To this, Bergman added the ideas of the clergyman struggling with his faith and a relationship outside marriage. The idea of the character becoming depressed over fear of
China and weapons of mass destruction The People's Republic of China has developed and possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and nuclear weapons. The first of List of nuclear weapons tests of China, China's nuclear weapons tests took place in 1964, and its Test ...
was based on an article Bergman himself had read, and he acknowledged it reflected his own dread. Bergman attempted to structure the screenplay as
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
, in three acts. It is meant, in part, as criticism of the governance of the
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden () is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.5 million members at year end 2023, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sweden, the largest List ...
, which Bergman felt was condemning itself by failing to keep what is important. He completed the screenplay on 11 August 1961, at which point Vilgot Sjöman began filming the documentary '' Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie'' chronicling the production. With this film, Bergman took the rare step of sharing the screenplay with his father, Church of Sweden minister
Erik Bergman Erik Valdemar Bergman (24 November 1911 – 24 April 2006) was a composer of european classical music, classical music from Finland. Bergman's style ranged widely, from Romanticism in his early works (many of which he later prohibited from bein ...
, and boasted that his father read it three times. Ingmar may have been trying to communicate to his father that he understood Erik, but the name of the character, Ericsson (son of Erik), may indicate the character represents Ingmar more than Erik.


Casting

Ingmar Bergman personally cast some of the roles himself. Actor Gunnar Björnstrand, who played Tomas, typically acted in more comedic roles, and found it challenging to play a character who was in some ways unlikable. This led him to forget some of his lines, which Bergman said he had never seen Björnstrand do before. However, Björnstrand told Sjöman he personally liked the character because of his relatability.
Allan Edwall Johan Allan Edwall (25 August 1924 – 7 February 1997) was a Swedish actor, director, author, composer and singer, best-known outside Sweden for the small roles he played in some of Ingmar Bergman's films, such as ''Fanny and Alexander'' (1982). ...
played Algot, a character with the same form of
rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including a ...
as
prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
artist K.A. Bergman. As a result, K.A. Bergman supervised Edwall's performance.


Filming

The film was shot between 4 October 1961 and 17 January 1962 in the Filmstaden studios, Skattunge kyrka and Rättvik. The crew was unable to shoot inside the real Skattunge kyrka church, so they built a set for interiors. Although most film sets have no roofs, the crew built a roof over the church set it constructed. K.A. Bergman brought in hymn boards, which were centuries old, from real churches in Forsbacka and Lillkyrka. Cinematographer
Sven Nykvist Sven Vilhem Nykvist (; 3 December 1922 – 20 September 2006) was a Swedish cinematographer and filmmaker, best known for his collaboration with directors Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen. Often considered to be one of the greatest cinematographers ...
spent one month studying lighting in the church at different times of day and in different conditions, conducting photography tests. Nykvist's lighting was used directly from low perspectives in his shots. To reduce the shadows as much as possible, Nykist had reflectors and screens built to also indirectly light scenes. Although the clothing is ordinary, costume designer Max Goldstein had the actors try out many articles of clothing to determine what looked best, and Ingmar Bergman did not review his sketches. The film employs no score aside from the organ music. Bergman planned to use Sarabande from Suite No. 2 in D minor for Cello, BWV 1008 by
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
for the scene where Tomas and Märta leave the scene of Jonas's suicide, tying in with the use of the piece in ''Through a Glass Darkly'', but Bergman eventually abandoned the idea as "contrived". Bergman judged the speed of filming to be slower than his average film, because of struggles to master the right emotions, though scenes did not require an unusually high number of
take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each ...
s. The scene where Märta first comforts Tomas took 11 takes.


Release

The film opened in Sweden on 11 February 1963. Vilgot Sjöman's interviews with audience members at the Swedish premiere indicated viewers thought it was a masterpiece, that the performances were realistic, and Bergman's struggles with faith were relevant to everyone. In the United States, ''Winter Light'' opened in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on 13 May 1963, distributed by Janus Films. On 19 August 2003,
The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
released the film on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in Region 1, in a boxset with ''Through a Glass Darkly'', ''The Silence'' and Sjöman's documentary ''Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie''. In 2018, Criterion announced a
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
release in Region A for 20 November 2018, along with 38 other Bergman films, in the set '' Ingmar Bergman's Cinema''.


Reception

''Winter Light'' drew ambivalent responses in the American press. In '' Variety'', it was billed as "an extremely moving and fascinating film for the religiously aware, and a somewhat boring one for the religiously indifferent". Judith Crist of the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' wrote that the work "casts a gloom-tinged glare upon the human condition with chilling clarity", but found the film "bleak and cold in its abstract ideas". John Simon described it as "inferior Bergman" in '' The New Leader'', but wrote that it still "deserves to be seen". In ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...
called it "a thoughtful, engrossing, shocking film". The
National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...
named it one of the Top Foreign Films in its 1963 Awards. The film ranked 3rd on Cahiers du Cinéma's Top 10 Films of the Year List in 1965.
Susan Sontag Susan Lee Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, critic, and public intellectual. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on "Camp", Notes on 'Ca ...
, in her famous essay " Against Interpretation" first published in December 1964 in the '' Evergreen Review'', dismissed the "callow pseudo-intellectuality of the story and some of the dialogue" in ''Winter Light'', but praised "the beauty and visual sophistication of the images". In 2007,
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
added ''Winter Light'' to his Great Movies list, citing the film's "bleak, courageous power" and echoing Sontag's praise of its visual style as "one of rigorous simplicity". In his ''2015 Movie Guide'',
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
gave the film three and a half stars, calling it a "Powerful, penetrating drama". Bergman cited ''Winter Light'' as his favorite among his films. The film has a 74% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 23 reviews.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * *
''Winter Light''
an essay by
Peter Cowie Peter Cowie (born 24 December 1939) is a British film historian and author of more than thirty books on film. In 1963 he was the founder/publisher and general editor of the annual ''International Film Guide'', a survey of worldwide film product ...
at the
Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of arthouse film distributo ...
{{Authority control Films directed by Ingmar Bergman Films with atheism-related themes Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman 1963 films 1960s Swedish-language films Films about religion Swedish black-and-white films