Winter Light - A 1963 Movie Directed by Ingmar Bergman- 81 Minutes

 Available on YouTube 

I found Roger Ebert's remarks on Winter Light very illuminating 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-winter-light-1962

Winter Light is the fourth film directed by Ingmar Bergman upon which I have posted. Prior to this I watched The Seventh Seal, Persona and Wild Strawberries.

I would welcome suggestions as to additional of Bergman's films I should seek out.

Like Wild Strawberries, a central character in Winter Light is a widower in his mid- seventies, as am I.  Of course this focuses my response to the film.

Winter Light (Nattvardsgästerna) is a 1963 Swedish black-and-white drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin, and Max von Sydow. It follows Tomas Ericsson (Björnstrand), a pastor in a small fishing village in northern Sweden, as he grapples with his faith in the face of personal tragedy and the existential dread of his parishioners. 

The film is considered to be one of Bergman's most profound and personal works, and it has been praised for its stark realism, its exploration of religious faith, and its performances.

Bergman himself said that Winter Light was "a film about God and the silence of God," and it is clear that the film is deeply concerned with the question of faith in a world that seems increasingly devoid of meaning. Tomas's struggle to reconcile his own doubts with the needs of his parishioners is at the heart of the film, and it is a struggle that resonates with many viewers.

Winter Light is a challenging and demanding film, but it is also a rewarding one. It is a film that asks difficult questions about the nature of faith and the meaning of life, and it does not provide easy answers. But it is a film that is ultimately hopeful, suggesting that even in the darkest of times, there is still room for love and compassion.

Here are some of the themes explored in Winter Light:

Faith and doubt. Tomas's struggle to reconcile his own doubts with the needs of his parishioners is at the heart of the film.

The meaning of life. The film explores the question of what it means to live a meaningful life in a world that seems increasingly devoid of meaning.

Love and compassion. Despite the bleakness of its setting, Winter Light is a film that is ultimately hopeful, suggesting that even in the darkest of times, there is still room for love and faith.