Nattvardsgästerna (1963)

Sweden 81m, B&W
Director: Ingmar Bergman; Cast: Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin, Max von Sydow, Gunnel Lindblom

Winter Light is the story of Tomas Ericsson, a distressed Christian minister in charge of a shrinking rural congregation who is suffering a deep crisis within his own faith which has led to nearly unbearable feelings of isolation. The film’s intensely personal plot includes Marta, the town’s schoolteacher whose unrequited love for Tomas fuels her own sense of loneliness. Bergman’s existential message in Nattvardsgästerna is perfectly expressed in the film’s stark setting and his spartan style (Klaus Ming April 2016).