☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
The
Virgin Spring (1959) – I. Bergman
Burning with intensity, Bergman’s 21st
film is carved from an old Scandinavian ballad, lending it the quality of fable
or allegory. The setting (Middle Ages)
and the striking black and white cinematography (courtesy of Sven Nykvist) serve
to heighten this effect. But it is the sudden brutal and realistic violence,
which is that much more confronting due to its matter-of-factness, that truly
commands your gaze and asks you to contemplate the presence and nature of
evil. Max von Sydow’s response may be
our first primal stab (ultimately toothless) at this foe and Bergman does not
shy away from concentrating our attention on its complications. As in the Book of Job, we and the characters
in this medieval drama are led to question why any God would allow evil to
exist (even as the competing Pagan spirits are still being worshipped for their
power to influence and harm others). There is no simple answer but at least in
this film Bergman seems to be suggesting (through symbols and story) that faith
is the way ahead. His next films offer
much more doubt.
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