Dvd/150: NATTVARDSGASTERNA (Winter Light) (Ingmar Bergman, 1963)

With NATTVARDSGASTERNA, Bergman proudly felt he had got his ideas onto the screen without compromising for commercial appeal.

Bergman's dissection of the loss of faith takes place in 77 real-time minutes: everything's pared to the bone.

Pastor Tomas Ericsson holds a nearly-empty mass on a bleak November morning.  Attending are Marta, a teacher who is having an unhappy relationship with him, and married couple Jonas and Karin.  Tomas is visited later by the couple: pregnant Karin tells Tomas that Jonas is struggling with depression, scared that China is developing an atomic bomb.  Alone with Jonas, Tomas tells him he cannot help as he has lost his faith, believing God helps no one.

Afterwards, atheist Marta attempts to comfort Tomas but they hear Jonas has committed suicide...

Sven Nykvist's stunning cinematography and unsentimental performances from Gunnar Bjornstrand, Ingrid Thulin, Max von Sydow and Gunnel Lindblom make Bergman's vision unforgettable.

Shelf or charity shop?  A difficult film to watch at times but for Bergman's humanist view of man alone in the world, this is one for the shelf...