Through a Glass Darkly (film)

Through a Glass Darkly
The original Swedish movie poster.
Directed by	Ingmar Bergman
Written by	Ingmar Bergman
Produced by	Allan Ekelund
Starring	Harriet Andersson Gunnar Björnstrand Max von Sydow Lars Passgård
Cinematography	Sven Nykvist
Edited by	Ulla Ryghe
Music by	Erik Nordgren Johann Sebastian Bach
Distributed by	Svensk Filmindustri Janus Films
Release dates	Oct 16, 1961 Mar 13, 1962
Running time	89 min
Country	Sweden
Language	Swedish

Through a Glass Darkly (Swedish: Såsom i en spegel) is a 1961 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and produced by Allan Ekelund. The film explores the subtle terror of schizophrenia, both from the perspective of the patient, and their family.

The title derives from a Biblical passage (1 Corinthians 13) in which seeing through a glass darkly refers to our understanding of God when we are alive; the view will only be clear when we die. The Swedish title literally reads as in a mirror quoted from 1917 års bibelöversättning (the 1917 Swedish translation of the Bible). The film is often considered the first part of a trilogy focused on spiritual issues (together with Winter Light and The Silence), as Bergman writes, "These three films deal with reduction. Through a Glass Darkly — conquered certainty. Winter Light — penetrated certainty. The Silence — God's silence — the negative imprint. Therefore, they constitute a trilogy."

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler Four family members are vacationing on a remote island, shortly after one of them, Karin (Harriet Andersson), was released from an asylum. Karin's brother, an adolescent playwright named Minus (pron. Me-noose) (Lars Passgård), exhibits faint symptoms of the disease as well, and their father David (Gunnar Björnstrand), a writer, appears to take a perverse pleasure in observing the decline of his daughter, who, it is hinted, may provide the material for David's upcoming magnum opus. Although sane, David is shown as severely alienated from his own family; the final scene shows Minus shedding tears of joy because his father spoke to him briefly.

Karin's illness leads her to have visions ("through a glass darkly") which she believes will culminate in her seeing God, but she is terrified when "God" turns out to be a giant spider (an allusion to Dostoevsky's character Svidrigailov in Crime and Punishment who wonders of the afterlife, "But what if there are only spiders there, or something like that?").

Awards

This film won the 1961 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

External links

• Through a Glass Darkly at IMDb
• Criterion Collection essay by Peter Matthews
• DVD review of film at Unspoken Cinema
• Analysis of Bergman's film trilogy

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