Through a Glass Darkly
1961 ‘Såsom i en spegel’ Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Synopsis
While vacationing on a remote island retreat, a family’s already fragile ties are tested when daughter Karin (Harriet Andersson) discovers her father has been using her schizophrenia for his own literary means. As she drifts in and out of lucidity, the father (Gunnar Björnstrand), along with Karin’s husband (Max von Sydow) and her younger brother (Lars Passgård) are unable to prevent Karin’s harrowing descent into the abyss of mental illness.
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"One draws a magical circle around oneself to keep everything out that doesn't fit one's secret games. Each time life breaks through the circle, the games become puny and ridiculous. So one draws a new circle and builds new defenses."
Ingmar Bergman doesn't need a plot or narrative, he takes the natural simplicity of existence and toys with reality and consciousness in order to experiment with life's complexities. Through a Glass Darkly is a visual conception with a philosophical way of thinking. Passionately examining moral and spiritual nature and the effects uncertainty has on the mind.
Karin (Harriet Andersson), who is suffering from a terminal illness and was recently released from an asylum, retreats to a remote island with her…
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Fucking Bergman, man. This thing will have me thinking for a while, but you have to expect that going in with a Bergman movie.
This was shot as a horror movie, done and done. Really interesting long shots, lots of confined, dark spaces. The tension was constantly building, even in scenes where there wasn't supposed to be. I thought the acting was great. Max Von Sydow is fantastic, as usual.
I'd like to find some analysis on the ending until I really form my opinion...but overall it was an entertaining, thought provoking movie that ill be sure to re-watch soon.
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This must be the third or fourth time I watch Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly and it still holds up as one of the best films I've ever seen.
Bergman's objective here was clear since the first frame after the credits, as they are walking out of the sea, they'll leave darkness and try to find their paths. Every single one of them has a particular point that needs to be freed. The first, obviously, is Karin; when the movie begins, she had been recently freed from the hospital due some mental problems. This problem is never explicated, all we know is that it's almost incurable and she is still under treatment. This problem is apparently connected with desire, personal…
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A sparse, stark and bleakly beautiful meditation on the nature of faith. A minimalist approach to big themes.
The plot is simple:
A woman (Harriet Andersson) has moved home to her Swedish island after a period in a psychiatric hospital with an unspecified mental illness (we are led to believe it's probably schizophrenia)
She lives there with her husband (Max Von Sydow) and her brother (Lars Passgard), an aspiring writer.
Her father (Gunnar Bjornstrand), a struggling novelist has come to the island to live after the death of his wife.What follows if a chamber piece in the purest sense: The four characters, enclosed setting, and a timeframe of twenty-four hours.
True to its biblical themes and title (from a… -
In a time so inundated with cinematic gimmickry, a filmmaker such as Ingmar Bergman would never succeed. Rather than fancy camera work, he relies on powerful framing and the story itself to move viewers. The first film in his faith trilogy is starkly austere. Bergman's characters emerge from the water and enter a world of isolation. Not only isolated on an island that is surrounded by the silence and the serene, but emotionally isolated as well. Gunnar Bjornstrand plays the career obsessed patriarch whose forced and shallow attempts at reaching out to his family are obvious to all . Max Von Sydow is the husband who goes through all the right motions, but seems rather emotionless toward the wife he…
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It's been a while since I've seen this movie, or any Ingmar Bergman film for the matter, but with time I've gained a little perspective on how to create your standard Bergman character.
1) If you're in love, it's not just a big crush, your health and well being are now intrinsically tied to whomever you are in love with in such a soul crushing way that you can no longer fathom how life was before this happened and the idea of going on in life without this person is simply not an option.
2) If you are in love with someone, you are not married to them and your chances of marrying them are almost non-existent.
3) If you…
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Fucking Bergman, man. This thing will have me thinking for a while, but you have to expect that going in with a Bergman movie.
This was shot as a horror movie, done and done. Really interesting long shots, lots of confined, dark spaces. The tension was constantly building, even in scenes where there wasn't supposed to be. I thought the acting was great. Max Von Sydow is fantastic, as usual.
I'd like to find some analysis on the ending until I really form my opinion...but overall it was an entertaining, thought provoking movie that ill be sure to re-watch soon.
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It's been a while since I've seen this movie, or any Ingmar Bergman film for the matter, but with time I've gained a little perspective on how to create your standard Bergman character.
1) If you're in love, it's not just a big crush, your health and well being are now intrinsically tied to whomever you are in love with in such a soul crushing way that you can no longer fathom how life was before this happened and the idea of going on in life without this person is simply not an option.
2) If you are in love with someone, you are not married to them and your chances of marrying them are almost non-existent.
3) If you… -
Trough a Glass Darkly is the first film in Igmar Bergman's Faith Trilogy, and deals with a woman's decent into madness and her faith in the "God Beyond the Wall". The film closely resembles a stage play, with it's small cast of characters and it's emphasis on dialogue. The film delves into many complex moral situations that is surprising with it's age. There are some religious themes tied into Karin's manic episodes and other dialogue as well. Harriet Anderson along the rest of the cast give a great performance and really carry the dialogue in this film. My only complaint is that none of these aspects were as strong as they could have been. It was extremely competent film yet I found myself wishing for something a bit more memorable.
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I'm speechless...wow...just wow. Bergman may have been searching for a God that was not there. But I think I just found mine. His name is Ingmar Bergman.
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With this being the second Bergman film I've now watched, I've come to realize that they're not something you can just sit down, watch, and immediately dissect. It's messages are deep, intimate, and so personal that it affects you at your core. It's one that will sit with me for a while as I continue to let this movie wash over me - just as the gorgeous scenery washed over my TV screen. It's a beautiful black & white movie using plenty of close-ups, shadows and natural sunlight to further display its themes of madness, faith, and love.
I've learned this is called a "chamber" film, having a very limited cast shown only on one location. It allows for great depth…
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weirdly had the chance to see a play based on the movie that the film itself but in strange way saw things i missed then.
BERGMAN being BERGMAN was thinking way more than it might appear and this film is no stranger to that trait.
it is a movie about the demons from the past chasing to our presents and futures.
it is a movie about life repeating itself and teaching us the harshest of lessons over and over again.
as always a very well made film that haunts you for hours and days. -
Bergman's Trilogy of Faith starts in stunning fashion, a deep and gritty foray into the human psyche and an account of insanity. He masterfully connects the theme to our faith in God, and raises provocative questions about Him. Subtle yet forceful, this is a work of genius.
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Slightly dull, or perhaps I wasn't awake enough. The end is chilling, revealing the emptiness of religious experience.
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You can always rely on good old Bergman for a spellbinding watch. Mature, dark themes coupled with striking blank and white images. Fantastic film. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.