THE VIRGIN SPRING Movie Review
Jungfrukallan
In Ingmar Bergman's medieval tale, Herr Töre (Max von Sydow) sends his virginal daughter, Karin (Birgitta Pettersson), to carry a load of holy candles to church. As the candles can only be carried by a virgin, Karin's pregnant half-sister Ingeri slips a toad into Karin's bread out of jealousy. Later, on the road, when Karin offers to share her meal with some herdsmen, the toad's sudden appearance angers them. Their resentment escalates, and they rape and murder the girl. Her father discovers what has happened to his beloved daughter when the same herdsmen, unaware that this is the girl's family, try to sell the dead girl's robe to Herr Töre's wife. His revenge is swift, pure, and violent. Afterward, Herr Töre finds his daughter's body, vows to build a church to her memory on the spot, and as he does, a small, flowing spring suddenly appears. The Virgin Spring is a straightforward, cleanly told fable about a universe in which God understands the vengeance of the righteous, and forgives it. It's directed with grace and intelligence and beautifully photographed by Sven Nykvist, but it's never been among the most interesting or affecting of Bergman's films. The picture was more popular with audiences than with critics (it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film), and it seemed to open Bergman's cinema to an audience that had previously found his work forbidding, which is not a bad thing. Bergman himself has in recent years said that he's unhappy with the picture, and that in his mind it's “a bad imitation of Kurosawa.” Whether he's a better critic than he is a filmmaker—at least in this case—is up to you.
NEXT STOP … Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence
1959 88m/B SW Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Brigitta Pattersson, Axel Duborg; D: Ingmar Bergman; W: Ulla lsaakson; C: Sven Nykvist; M: Erik Nordgren. Academy Awards ‘60: Best Foreign Film; Golden Globe Awards ‘61: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘60: Best Costume Design (B & W).VHS HMV