Såsom i en spegel (1961)

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 1961 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young woman, Karin, has recently returned to the family island after spending some time in a mental hospital...

Plot Keywords:

God | Incest | Schizophrenia | Existentialism | Religion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Harriet Andersson	...	Karin
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	David
Max von Sydow	...	Martin
Lars Passgård	...	Fredrik (segment "Minus")

Also Known As:

Through a Glass Darkly (USA)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X | UK:15 (video rating) (1993)

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Martin and David are taking up nets in the boat, Martin puts his pipe in his mouth and then takes the oars and starts to row. In the next shot, the pipe is gone.

Quotes:

Martin: You're empty but capable. And now you're trying to fill your void with Karin's extinction. But how will God fit into that? It must make him more inscrutable than ever!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Andromeda: Through a Glass, Darkly (#5.11)" (2005)

"For now we see through a glass, darkly"- Bible, 1 Corinthians xiii. 12.

Well, we don't see darkly through a glass, and Bergman explains in his "Introductions" that during the ancient times, there were no glass, the mirrors were made of metal, bronze, for instance and while looking through the metal mirror, the face and the background appear darker than in reality. Does it mean that when we look inside ourselves like in the mirror, we appear darker and more sinister than we are? Or the other way around?

"Through a Glass Darkly" is a typically great Bergman's film - four people arrive to an isolated island to spend a few days together, a young woman, her husband, father, and brother. They seem to love one another and are perfectly happy and comfortable in the beginning. It does not last long - not in the Bergman's world. Harriet Anderson was amazing as Karin, a mentally sick young woman, who was just released from the hospital but I believe three other actors playing Father (Gunnar Bjornstrand), Husband (Max von Sydow), and Brother (Lars Passgård) were as good as she was. The Father was especially interesting - he was a reason Karin became ill on the first place and his diary sent her to the total mental breakdown. As with "Persona" and "Autumn Sonata", Bergman is asking again how far is an Artist willing to go for his Art? Here, Father, the writer wants to be a cool and remote observer of his daughter's mental tragedy as a study for his future work. There is a hope, though, in the end. Not for Karin - it is too late for her - but for her confused young brother who is also fighting for his sanity and desperately needs his father's love and understanding. His last words - "Daddy talked to me" - give this bleak and tragic story the hope that his life could be different. Or maybe not...