Why would anyone let their teenage daughter wander around medieval Sweden by herself?

sweden, 1960, swedish

INGMAR BERGMAN


The Virgin Spring

This is the twenty-fifth film by Ingmar Bergman that I have watched and written about for this site. Before I started I had only ever seen The Seventh Seal, which I watched as a twenty year old during my first summer internship. Even then I loved it, but nothing prepared me for the relationship I’ve had with his work since I started watching it in earnest.

Bergman is, without a doubt, my favorite director. Twenty-five films and I think the worst he’s ever done, for me, is making something that was only decent. I just resonate so strongly with both his craft and his ideas. They speak to me on a level that is perhaps surprising, given the vast differences in culture/language/religious upbringing, between us. It says something about the power of art to connect across barriers.

I love his work, as I’ve now stated quite a few times, but I was still hesitant to watch this one for a long time. This is another case of putting too much faith in Criterion’s summaries to be honest. There have been very few moments in the last few years that I’ve had any interest in willingly watching anything described as “harrowing”. I should have known better though, and trusted in Ingmar to bring me through.

This is a harrowing story, for sure. It features the rape and murder of a teenager, and the revenge her understandably upset father carries out. But the film isn’t really about that, if that makes sense. It happens, but it’s somehow not really dwelt on. The larger story is about the meaning of faith, and the process by which Scandinavia came to Christianity.

This film takes place during the transition. Several of the characters are part of the old world. Worshipers of Odin, believers in a very dark and eye-for-an-eye vision of humanity. And then the rest of the characters are some level of new Christians, figuring out what that means for them and their lives.

It’s fascinating, especially as someone who grew up in a similarly ancient pre-Christian religion. One that has softened, not by creed, but by people’s growth over the long centuries. Additionally, I have grown up fully immersed in a Christian context, by nature of having been raised in late twentieth century America. All of that experience gives me a particular view into the meaning of this film, and it hit me so much harder than the awful violent story did.