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Guds tystnad #1-3
Three Films by Ingmar Bergman
Book by Bergman I
Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
5 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Ingmar Bergman
166 books603 followersErnst Ingmar Bergman was a nine-time Academy Award-nominated Swedish film, stage, and opera director. He depicted bleakness and despair as well as comedy and hope in his explorations of the human condition. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in cinematic history.
He directed 62 films, most of which he wrote, and directed over 170 plays. Some of his internationally known favorite actors were Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, and Max von Sydow. Most of his films were set in the stark landscape of his native Sweden, and major themes were often bleak, dealing with death, illness, betrayal, and insanity.
Bergman was active for more than 60 years, but his career was seriously threatened in 1976 when he suspended a number of pending productions, closed his studios, and went into self-imposed exile in Germany for eight years following a botched criminal investigation for alleged income tax evasion.
He directed 62 films, most of which he wrote, and directed over 170 plays. Some of his internationally known favorite actors were Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, and Max von Sydow. Most of his films were set in the stark landscape of his native Sweden, and major themes were often bleak, dealing with death, illness, betrayal, and insanity.
Bergman was active for more than 60 years, but his career was seriously threatened in 1976 when he suspended a number of pending productions, closed his studios, and went into self-imposed exile in Germany for eight years following a botched criminal investigation for alleged income tax evasion.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 17, 2021
The screenplays to three of Ingmar Bergman's finest films.
"Ingmar Bergman's theme in this great trilogy of films is the obsession with God; that strange, compelling search for guidance which is, perhaps, doomed by the very contingency from which it springs.
"Ingmar Bergman's ability to combine the greatest universality with the most delicate intimacy of situation and characterisation gives his films something of the power of myth."
The theme of these films is a 'reduction' - in the metaphysical sense of that word.
Certainty achieved: 'THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY' (1960) - David (Gunnar Bjornstrand) is tortured by his daughter's madness and his own fascination with it. With Harriet Andersson as Karin, Max Von Sydow as her husband and Lars Passgard as the brother.
(Academy Award winner for Best Foreign-Language Film, 1961; Nominated Best Screenplay, 1962).
Certainty unmasked: 'WINTER LIGHT'/ 'THE COMMUNICANTS' (1961) - Tomas (Gunnar Bjornstrand), a disillusioned priest in a small town searches for the faith and guidance he is unable to give his congregation.
Co-starring Ingrid Thulin and Max Von Sydow. Considered to be one of Bergman's bleakest and most difficult films, it is also one of his most nearly perfect works and a personal favourite of mine which gets more rewarding with each viewing.
God's silence - the negative impression: 'THE SILENCE' (1962) - Anna (Gunnel Lindblom), left with no guidance but the demands of her body and the bitter disapproval of her dying sister Ester (Ingrid Thulin), and travelling with Anna's ten-year-old son, set against the starkness of a hotel room in a repressed unnamed Eastern European city.
"The quality of Bergman's writing is such that these scripts are almost as rewarding to read as the films are to watch."
Ingmar Berman: "A FILM MANUSCRIPT IS LIKE A MUSICAL SCORE. ITS PROSE IS A FILMMAKER'S MUSIC."
Review based on 1967 hardcover edition published by The Orion Press, New York. Translation by Paul Britten Austin (from the original Caldar & Boyars, London publication). 143 pages plus 12 pages of stills.
"Ingmar Bergman's theme in this great trilogy of films is the obsession with God; that strange, compelling search for guidance which is, perhaps, doomed by the very contingency from which it springs.
"Ingmar Bergman's ability to combine the greatest universality with the most delicate intimacy of situation and characterisation gives his films something of the power of myth."
The theme of these films is a 'reduction' - in the metaphysical sense of that word.
Certainty achieved: 'THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY' (1960) - David (Gunnar Bjornstrand) is tortured by his daughter's madness and his own fascination with it. With Harriet Andersson as Karin, Max Von Sydow as her husband and Lars Passgard as the brother.
(Academy Award winner for Best Foreign-Language Film, 1961; Nominated Best Screenplay, 1962).
Certainty unmasked: 'WINTER LIGHT'/ 'THE COMMUNICANTS' (1961) - Tomas (Gunnar Bjornstrand), a disillusioned priest in a small town searches for the faith and guidance he is unable to give his congregation.
Co-starring Ingrid Thulin and Max Von Sydow. Considered to be one of Bergman's bleakest and most difficult films, it is also one of his most nearly perfect works and a personal favourite of mine which gets more rewarding with each viewing.
God's silence - the negative impression: 'THE SILENCE' (1962) - Anna (Gunnel Lindblom), left with no guidance but the demands of her body and the bitter disapproval of her dying sister Ester (Ingrid Thulin), and travelling with Anna's ten-year-old son, set against the starkness of a hotel room in a repressed unnamed Eastern European city.
"The quality of Bergman's writing is such that these scripts are almost as rewarding to read as the films are to watch."
Ingmar Berman: "A FILM MANUSCRIPT IS LIKE A MUSICAL SCORE. ITS PROSE IS A FILMMAKER'S MUSIC."
Review based on 1967 hardcover edition published by The Orion Press, New York. Translation by Paul Britten Austin (from the original Caldar & Boyars, London publication). 143 pages plus 12 pages of stills.
July 25, 2025
Lyssnade nyligen på en gammal intervju med Bergman där han säger något i stil med att han inte befattar sig med det litterära. Det är för mig svårförståeligt för visst finns en litterär kraft i allt han skriver, må hända att det är ägnat för att bli film. För det är med en rasande fart jag läser alla tre manus under några varma sommardagar i juli. Och det är starkt att ordagrant få följa landsortspastorn Tomas Ericssons tilltagande tvivel på guds existens i Nattvardsgästerna och hur det tvivlet rubbar inte bara hans verklighet utan alla i hans omgivning. Har sett filmen tidigare men det är något särskilt att få läsa dialogerna i manusform, särskilt den med lärarinnan Märta.
Såsom i en spegel har jag också sett och tycker också om att ta del av storyn i manusform. Förstår betydligt mer av det som sammanbinder de fyra karaktärerna som under några somriga dagar är på en karg ö i havet (filmat på Fårö) där landskapet och klimatet snyggt vävs samman i händelseförloppet.
Ska snarast möjligt se om filmen.
Tystnaden är helt ny för mig och känns som en febrig surrealistisk dröm. Två systrar och ena systerns barn (kanske 7-8 årig pojke) åker tåg genom ett kvavt Europa och stannar till några dagar på ett hotell i ett fiktivt land där det talas ett språk som Bergman verkar ha hittat på. Trots en bokstavlig tystnad i dialogerna förstår man tidigt att systrarna har ett osunt, symbiotiskt, förhållande till varandra. De verkar nästan avsky varandra, iallafall gör ena systern det. Vi får ta del av skeendena mycket utifrån pojkens perspektiv och det är nog genom honom man förstår att det är krig/strider i det påhittade landet. Pojken påminner en del om Alexander i Fanny och Alexander, särskilt i det att gränsen mellan fantasi och verklighet verkar suddas ut. Jag ser fram emot att se filmen!
Såsom i en spegel har jag också sett och tycker också om att ta del av storyn i manusform. Förstår betydligt mer av det som sammanbinder de fyra karaktärerna som under några somriga dagar är på en karg ö i havet (filmat på Fårö) där landskapet och klimatet snyggt vävs samman i händelseförloppet.
Ska snarast möjligt se om filmen.
Tystnaden är helt ny för mig och känns som en febrig surrealistisk dröm. Två systrar och ena systerns barn (kanske 7-8 årig pojke) åker tåg genom ett kvavt Europa och stannar till några dagar på ett hotell i ett fiktivt land där det talas ett språk som Bergman verkar ha hittat på. Trots en bokstavlig tystnad i dialogerna förstår man tidigt att systrarna har ett osunt, symbiotiskt, förhållande till varandra. De verkar nästan avsky varandra, iallafall gör ena systern det. Vi får ta del av skeendena mycket utifrån pojkens perspektiv och det är nog genom honom man förstår att det är krig/strider i det påhittade landet. Pojken påminner en del om Alexander i Fanny och Alexander, särskilt i det att gränsen mellan fantasi och verklighet verkar suddas ut. Jag ser fram emot att se filmen!
Read
March 13, 2020Bach. It had to be Sebastian Bach.
And it had to be the hand.
And it had to be the hand.
October 8, 2020
Mislila sam da će mi privikavanje na Bergmanov narativ biti dug proces obzirom na teme koje prožimaju tekstove - smrt, religija, disocijacija, praznina, dan i njegovi izdvojeni trenutci, nesreća i filozofija.
Sreća u nesreći je da su to moje teme. Svojatam ih. Nisam se trebala privikavati na stil - prirodno je bilo prihvatiti ga. Ne mogu izdvojiti priču/dramu/film koja mi je bolja. Svaka je posebna na svoj način. Svaka je ista na svoj način.
Smisla ima i nema. I jesi i nisi. Ako za ništa drugo u životu nemam dobar tajming, u knjigama sam trefer. Jedan od talenata.
Sreća u nesreći je da su to moje teme. Svojatam ih. Nisam se trebala privikavati na stil - prirodno je bilo prihvatiti ga. Ne mogu izdvojiti priču/dramu/film koja mi je bolja. Svaka je posebna na svoj način. Svaka je ista na svoj način.
Smisla ima i nema. I jesi i nisi. Ako za ništa drugo u životu nemam dobar tajming, u knjigama sam trefer. Jedan od talenata.
November 12, 2025
Before reading this I’d only engaged with The Seventh Seal and Persona from Bergman. They always struck me as two wildly different movies. Now, having read this book, I can see I was wrong. Those two movies, plus the three screenplays in this book, all explore God and how one’s concept of God shapes our persona and the turmoil which lies behind it.
October 10, 2025
Through a Glass Darkly, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman
9.1 out of 10
Although Through a Glass Darkly is…well, a dark film, it is also thought provoking, troubling and like almost all Ingmar Bergman motion pictures, a work of art in a league of its own.
The opening scenes seem to anticipate a more serene, if not happy narrative, with the young Minus aka Lars Passgard and his sister Karin, the wonderful, disturbing, intense Harriet Andersson almost cheerful.
They are joined by their father, David played by the majestic, memorable, present in quite a few other Ingmar Bergman films Gunnar Bjornstrand and one of the greatest artists of the world, Max von Sydow, who has the role of Martin, husband of Karin and friend of the family.
These are the only characters present in this dark feature, they have been out at sea on a boat, and they are getting ready for dinner.
After the first few moments when the public might think that they will have a good time and the excitement of the approaching evening together and the spirited conversation of the brother and sister are tempered down, Martin remains alone with David on the shore.
The latter asks about a letter he had sent, while his father-in-law was away from the country – he is a travelling scholar and author, speaking about his recent experience in the now defunct Yugoslavia.
As David left from the Swiss – was it in Switzerland though? – town where his son-in-law had sent the message, he had had no chance to learn the content, but is about to find out.
Martin is concerned about the welfare of his spouse and the fact that they had gone to see a doctor that said her ailment is incurable and regardless of the fact that he is an optimist, this is disturbing.
Nevertheless, in the first few scenes, the young woman seems to be quite cheerful and not in the least the depressed, haunted, mentally ill patient that is furthermore impossible to treat.
Alas, as we progress in the narrative, her condition deteriorates and it becomes a challenge to watch her.
The motion picture has won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962 and was unusually – for a feature not in the English language – nominated for another Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written directly for the Screen.
It is a memorable, if haunting, rather difficult to watch after the first part film, that could arguably enter the horror movie category, not just drama.
9.1 out of 10
Although Through a Glass Darkly is…well, a dark film, it is also thought provoking, troubling and like almost all Ingmar Bergman motion pictures, a work of art in a league of its own.
The opening scenes seem to anticipate a more serene, if not happy narrative, with the young Minus aka Lars Passgard and his sister Karin, the wonderful, disturbing, intense Harriet Andersson almost cheerful.
They are joined by their father, David played by the majestic, memorable, present in quite a few other Ingmar Bergman films Gunnar Bjornstrand and one of the greatest artists of the world, Max von Sydow, who has the role of Martin, husband of Karin and friend of the family.
These are the only characters present in this dark feature, they have been out at sea on a boat, and they are getting ready for dinner.
After the first few moments when the public might think that they will have a good time and the excitement of the approaching evening together and the spirited conversation of the brother and sister are tempered down, Martin remains alone with David on the shore.
The latter asks about a letter he had sent, while his father-in-law was away from the country – he is a travelling scholar and author, speaking about his recent experience in the now defunct Yugoslavia.
As David left from the Swiss – was it in Switzerland though? – town where his son-in-law had sent the message, he had had no chance to learn the content, but is about to find out.
Martin is concerned about the welfare of his spouse and the fact that they had gone to see a doctor that said her ailment is incurable and regardless of the fact that he is an optimist, this is disturbing.
Nevertheless, in the first few scenes, the young woman seems to be quite cheerful and not in the least the depressed, haunted, mentally ill patient that is furthermore impossible to treat.
Alas, as we progress in the narrative, her condition deteriorates and it becomes a challenge to watch her.
The motion picture has won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962 and was unusually – for a feature not in the English language – nominated for another Oscar for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written directly for the Screen.
It is a memorable, if haunting, rather difficult to watch after the first part film, that could arguably enter the horror movie category, not just drama.
Want to read
June 21, 2019read winter's light last night
January 15, 2024
Winter Light is as perfect on the page as it is on screen. It was marvelous to slowly read all three scripts this long weekend, which will enrich the films when I rewatch them someday.
December 7, 2013
a short read. kind of funny as its' the inverse of reading the book before you watch the movie. kind of depressing. death is a major theme. religion is a major theme. suicide is a major theme. mental illness is a major theme. other people's INDIFFERENCE to death & suicide & mental indifference is a major theme. well maybe indifference is not the right word. maybe stoic is a more apt term. or denial...
existentialism seems to not be a major theme.
if i watch the movies. i will probably give them a greater context & i will appreciate them a bit more.
existentialism seems to not be a major theme.
if i watch the movies. i will probably give them a greater context & i will appreciate them a bit more.
April 9, 2007
I just read 1 of these 3(Winter light) and i enjoyed it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews