Winter Light

Winter Light is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring his regulars, Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. It follows Tomas Ericsson (Björnstrand), pastor of a small rural Swedish church, as he deals with an existential crisis 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 Darklys 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. It 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, 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. Tomas speaks to the man briefly, but asks Jonas to return after taking his wife home. No sooner have the Perssons left than 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.