Original Title: Såsom i en spegel
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Harriett Andersson, Max von Sydow, Lars Passgard
Run time: 89 min
My first Bergman film was Persona and it blows me away. Although I had to think harder to understood what the meaning of it, at least I made it. So I began to read more about this particular Swedish director and my choice for the third film by Bergman is this one (the second is The Seventh Seal but I need to collect more mojo to write it down).
From what I read this film is one of the so called "Man-God trilogy" or "the Silence trilogy" or "the Dark/Faith trilogy" (three films: Through a glass darkly, Winter light, and The Silence) that deals with deep theological question.
From the outside it looks like that it is just another family drama. Karin (Harriet Andersson) is the daughter who suffers from schizophrenia. Her husband, Martin (Max von Sydow), loves her but feels powerless to help her. While her brother, Minus (Lars Passgard), seems to be lonely and wanting a deeper connection with his father, David (Gunnar Bjornstrand). David himself is an author who always away and seems to be disconnected with his family.
They are on vacation and somehow Karin's madness manages to pull and disintegrate the family in the same time. In one scene Karin looks like she's in a trance and talking to an empty open door that she thinks as God.
I am impressed on how this film is character driven and on how a simple family drama can contain such deep message; questioning sanity and faith. I am looking forward to see Winter Light and The Silence to grasp what Bergman is trying to say.
In black and white, the scenes are carefully shown and it doesn't rely on panoramic or photographic shot to woo the audience with the beauty of the island.
Bergman use his famous two shot, placing two faces on the screen in very close physical juxtaposition, but the characters are not looking at each other. Each is focused on some unspecified point off-screen, each is looking in a different direction. So close but yet separated. I think it tries to show us that the characters are physically close but psychologically separated.
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Harriett Andersson, Max von Sydow, Lars Passgard
Run time: 89 min
My first Bergman film was Persona and it blows me away. Although I had to think harder to understood what the meaning of it, at least I made it. So I began to read more about this particular Swedish director and my choice for the third film by Bergman is this one (the second is The Seventh Seal but I need to collect more mojo to write it down).
From what I read this film is one of the so called "Man-God trilogy" or "the Silence trilogy" or "the Dark/Faith trilogy" (three films: Through a glass darkly, Winter light, and The Silence) that deals with deep theological question.
From the outside it looks like that it is just another family drama. Karin (Harriet Andersson) is the daughter who suffers from schizophrenia. Her husband, Martin (Max von Sydow), loves her but feels powerless to help her. While her brother, Minus (Lars Passgard), seems to be lonely and wanting a deeper connection with his father, David (Gunnar Bjornstrand). David himself is an author who always away and seems to be disconnected with his family.
They are on vacation and somehow Karin's madness manages to pull and disintegrate the family in the same time. In one scene Karin looks like she's in a trance and talking to an empty open door that she thinks as God.
I am impressed on how this film is character driven and on how a simple family drama can contain such deep message; questioning sanity and faith. I am looking forward to see Winter Light and The Silence to grasp what Bergman is trying to say.
In black and white, the scenes are carefully shown and it doesn't rely on panoramic or photographic shot to woo the audience with the beauty of the island.
Bergman use his famous two shot, placing two faces on the screen in very close physical juxtaposition, but the characters are not looking at each other. Each is focused on some unspecified point off-screen, each is looking in a different direction. So close but yet separated. I think it tries to show us that the characters are physically close but psychologically separated.
