Ingmar Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly follows the tale of a family as they come to terms with the realities of caring for a family member with not only schizophrenia, but whose hallucinations manifest in the form of God. This placed the head of the family, the father, in a particularly tricky situation as he has always been tied to religion in some form and cannot grip the concept of religion being a negative aspect of one’s existence. As the film is one of a three-part series, this is only the first taste you receive of Bergman’s take on social and religious commentary. Throughout much of the 60’s and 70’s Bergman chose to create works centered around gods and demons.
Much of the film’s negative critical reception stemmed from one of two issues – the topic being covered or the way the topic was covered. Not only did Bergman create a discussion around religion and the role it plays in the lives of a multitude of individuals, he portrayed God as both good and evil. Though God comes to Karin in a form that is menacing and frightening, by the end of the movie the family seems complacent in her state and their relationship with God.
The social commentary within the international film places it within the neorealist wave of cinema art. The purposeful rawness of the plot, the simplicity and hyper-concentration of the span of time covered, as well as Ingmar Bergman’s preference to reuse the same small trope of actors within the film contribute to the actual classification. The methods used to capture the film can be attributed to the ongoing working relationship between Ingmar Bergman and his cinematographer, Sven Nykvist. Nykvist worked on every Bergman film from 1953 onward, and his simplistic style of shooting and dramatic lighting to emphasize the severity of certain scenes contributes greatly to the flow of the tale. Ingmar Berman contributed to the Neorealism movement; from his use of nontraditional casting methods to his commitment to the social commentary surrounding religion in the 1960’s. Ingmar Bergman’s style of writing and ability to transform a play to a film contributes to his reputation as a cinema artist. It is acknowledged that the writer has a tremendous ability to squeeze robust plotlines into relatively short-lived timeframes.
Within critical review, Roger Egbert goes on to discuss Berman’s style of both wring and cinematography. It is discussed how he chooses to emphasize the human face multiple times within multiple scripts, as he felt they were the window the human soul and capable of portraying a higher level of emotion and understanding. Thomas Hibbs critiques the many hidden religious themes within each of Bergman’s films spanning the 60’s. His opinion is like Egbert’s in that he feels Swedish filmmakers (such as Bergman) can hold an intellectual and artistically based discussion on the public and their relation to religion. The juxtaposition of a film based upon God including largely sexualized scenes contributes to the “frontrunner” status Berman maintained. Ingmar Bergman was adamant throughout his career that although he identified as a liberal, he did not attempt to create film that portrayed his own personal views. It is commonly argued that he did not do the best job, as his films are typically centered around existentialism, faith, loneliness and mortality.
Hi Aisha, I liked how you brought the cinematographer, Sven Nykvist, into the picture when talking about Through a Glass Darkly since Nykvist did play a hue role in making this film. When you talk about the lighting and how it did effect the severity of the scenes makes me want to focus on that more when analyzing the films I am going to watch. Also, it is very interesting how Bergman chose to write about religion. Religion is a very touchy subject and to portray God as good, in addition to evil is very bold. For this reason, I understand why there were negative remarks on the topic that Bergman covered.