Review of Winter Light (1963) by Eric K — 15 May 2009

Winter Light is probably one of the most amazing, jaw-dropping movies I've seen in a while. I would even go as far as to say that it's better than the Seventh Seal, but I want to give it another viewing before I finally decide. Either way this is an exceptional masterpiece and a milestone in cinema.

All the usual suspects are present in this dreary film: Max von Sydow (my personal fav. of the crew) puts on, in my opinion, his best performance (at least from what I've seen) as a sullen man who looses his faith and begins to question the value of life due to an article he read in the paper about China. Gunnar Bjornstrand stars as the pastor Karin, another man who is slowly loosing his faith after his wife passed away four years ago. Ingrid Thulin plays a schoolteacher who steals the show, especially when Karin is reading her letter. If there's one trademark that Bergman has, it's shooting in close-ups, and it's put to the final test here during this reading. This is one of the most heart wrenching moments I have ever seen in cinema. I know someone who acted exactly like her character in the movie, and it's frightening how Bergman nailed this persona head on. Berman is truly a master at weaving tales about the human condition.

The photography is great, but the acting is what really makes this movie work. When we hear the bad news about Max von Sydow's character, my mouth literally dropped. The scene where Karin explains his true feelings to Ingrid Thulin's character is just as effective, and the ending is phenomenal. However, even in a world as dark and dreary as this Bergman still manages to light a candle in the dark when we see Karin perform his sermon in the end. I highly, highly recommend this movie to everyone.