The Frame

The second of Ingmar Bergman’s informal “faith” trilogy, following Through a Glass Darkly. This one follows an older minister who is unable to help one of his parishioners (the always impressive Max von Sydow) who is in despair and contemplating suicide, at least partially because the minister himself is undergoing something of a crisis of faith. The most interesting thing to me was how similar Winter Light is superficially to Robert Bresson’s Diary of a Country Priest, yet I liked Winter Light a lot more. I didn’t love it, but it affected me more. Apparently crisis of faith stories aren’t really my thing, but I seem more drawn to Bergman than Bresson…which is consistent with my opinions of their other films. I was particularly impressed with the scene of Ingrid Thulin speaking the words of a letter she sent to the pastor, all directly into an unflinching camera.
Well Above Average