The Virgin Spring: a review of Bergman's controversial rape film containing Biblical themes

The Virgin Spring is a 1960 film set in medieval Sweden about a virgin girl who is brutally raped and her father’s revenge on the men who commit the crime. The film is directed by Ingmar Bergman and written by Ulla Isaksson who adopted the script from a Swedish ballad called Töres döttrar i Wänge ("Töre's daughters in Vänge"). The film stars Max Von Sydow, Birgitta  Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, and Birgitta Pettersson.

A wealthy landowner named Tore (Max Von Sydow) and his wife Maretta (Birgitta Valberg) prepare their daughter for her long journey to church where she will deliver candles for morning mass. A servant girl named Ingeri (Gunnel Lindblom) is jealous of Karin. Ingeri has slept with many men and is also pregnant. Karin (Birgitta Pettersson) is a virgin and her parents’ pride and joy. The parents send Ingeri with Karin. Karin’s horse is lily white; Ingeri’s horse is mottled and dingy. 

They have several encounters along the journey. They meet an old man in a shack who worships the pagan God Odin. The lecherous old man offers Ingeri her heart’s desire in exchange for sex and Ingeri--conflicted by her hatred and jealousy towards Karin--manages to resist his offer. Karin, on the other hand, sees the world through rose-colored glasses and perceives no threat from Ingeri, the forest, or any of the ominous-looking men they encounter. Somehow, Ingeri and Karin separate and 3 herdsmen--2 men and a boy--spot Karin alone. She offers them some of her food and they guide her and her white horse off the path.   

Christian symbolism is expressed throughout The Virgin Spring. Karin switches back and forth between playing Christ and the fall of Mankind. In the beginning, Karin’s father, Tore, is accused by his wife of spoiling their daughter. The question is why would an over-protective father send his pure, virgin, inexperienced daughter into such a dangerous and unpredictable world? This fits with the Biblical story of God sending Christ into the world. Also notice that Karin’s horse is white coinciding with goodness. And also note that she offers the herdsmen some of her bread. In the Last Supper, Christ compares his body to bread and tells his disciples to eat it. In the same sense as bread, Karin is consumed by the herdsmen who rape and kill her. Also, the trail itself represents God’s way and when Karin--now switching from the role of Christ to the role of Mankind--strays from “the path,” the fall of mankind follows. 

Ingeri switches back and forth between playing Adam, Cain, and Mankind’s redemption. In the role of Adam, Ingeri partakes of the forbidden fruit of lust by becoming a promiscuous woman. This is why her face, hands, and clothes look dirty; even her horse looks dirty compared with Karin’s white horse. This physical contrast between her and Karin is crucial in understanding why the film is called The Virgin Spring. Remember, virginity is associated in the mind with cleanliness and you cannot wash off dirt with dirty water. Ingeri, being the embodiment of Man’s downfall, is dirty with sin, sin that can only be redeemed with the blood and clean water of Karin who is innocent and Christ-like. This explains why Ingeri-- at no other time in the film --makes no attempt to clean the dirt from her hands and face. Remember, she has the chance to wash the dirt off herself in the brook running under the old man’s shack in the woods; she doesn’t because the water under the old man’s shack is polluted with lust and the envy she bears against Karin. Only at the spring that breaks out under Karin’s dead body does Ingeri washes the dirt off of her face and--in doing so--is redeemed and born again by the blood of an innocent. This analogy between Karin and Christ is magnified by Karin clutching a lamb (representing Christ) prior to being raped and murdered by the herdsmen. Revenge, justice, paganism, guilt, the dangers of ignorance, and existentialism round out the film’s other complex themes. 

The Virgin Spring plays out like a poem and I rank it with The Seventh Seal that Bergman  directed 3 years earlier. I must warn you though, the rape scene is graphic and shocking despite the fact that this film has been out for almost 60 years. It won the Academy Award For Best Language Film, a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and a Special Mention Award at Cannes. The Virgin Spring is among the best examples of Bergman’s powers as a visual storyteller, again with the assistance of longtime collaborators, cinematographer Sven Nykvist and editor Oscar Rosander. As usual, Janus and Criterion did an excellent job on this film. Bergman’s early black and white films were short compared to the color films he made later such as Fanny and Alexander (5 hours and 12 minutes) and Scenes From A Marriage (4 hours and 40 mins); The Virgin Spring, by comparison, is only 89 minutes. Time flies watching any of Bergman’s films which is why he is my favorite director.

Cries and Whispers reviewed and analyzed in under 5 minutes

Cries and Whispers is a 1972 film by director Ingmar Bergman about how we are all existentially alone in our feelings, the need we all have for an emotional outlet, and the need we all have for human comfort. The film takes place in a mansion in the late 19th century and focuses on 3 sisters, 1 of whom is dying of cancer. The film stars Liv Ullmann, Harriet Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Erland Josephson, and Kari Sylwan.

In the film, sisters Karin and Maria (played by Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann) are contrasted against Agnes and Anna (played by Harriet Andersson and Kari Sylwan). As children, Karin and Maria are favored by their mother and never experience any real suffering or loneliness that would have enabled them to develop empathy. Their coldness towards each other, their sister, Anna, and their husbands are consistent throughout the film. Anna and Agnes, on the other hand, have suffered in ways that make them sensitive to others’ suffering. This is why Agnes relates better than her sisters to their mother even though her mother neglects her. Agnes' suffering in isolation and loneliness helps her understand her mother’s isolation and loneliness. Anna suffers quietly as a maidservant among employers who look down on her. This and the death of her ill daughter makes her able to comfort and relate to Agnes’ pain.

Although Agnes appears to be the most isolated character in the film she isn’t because the maid, Anna, is always there when she cries out. It is Agnes’ mother and Agnes’s sisters Maria and Karin who are most isolated and incapable of expressing their feelings. Agnes’ cries are answered by Anna. By contrast, Karin has no way to express her feelings; Maria is too selfish and Frederik, her husband, is too insensitive. Therefore, Karin expresses her pain through self-mutilation. Like Karin, Joakim (Henning Moritzen), also has no one to share the pain caused by his cheating wife and therefore attempts suicide. Likewise, the sisters’ mother has no one to share her loneliness with except Agnes whom she neglected. But it is because of this isolation and neglect that Agnes is able to relate to her mother. And like Agnes, the servant Anna, who lost her daughter to an illness, knows also what it is like to feel lonely and isolated which is why she can relate to Agnes. 

This is one of my favorite Bergman films because it has everything you like about all of his films in only 90 minutes: symbolism; great acting; great cinematography; period costumes. This film and all his films prove that you can make an intelligent film that’s equally entertaining. Like my other favorite director Stanley Kubrick, Bergman’s films leaves you thinking about things you weren’t thinking about going in. Cries and Whispers received 5 Academy Award nominations and wound up winning Best Cinematography for Sven Nykvist.  Although the film made only $1,500,000.00 it was considered at the time a commercial success being that it was made for only $400,000.00. I have it on DVD and Criterion did an excellent job as usual. If you like Bergman’s other films, you should add this to the collection.

Memento in forward and reverse: a film review and breakdown in 6 mins

Memento is a 2000 psychological thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan based on a 1999 short story called Memento Mori by his brother Jonathan Nolan that was published in the March 2001 edition of Esquire Magazine. The film stars Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne-Moss, and Joe Pantoliano.

In Memento, actor Guy Pearce plays an insurance investigator named Leonard Shelby who is very good at spotting fake claims. He only trusts the facts because memories are unreliable and can change, from person to person, like the color of a room. A 58 year old man named Sammy Jankis comes into his office one day to file a claim after a car accident leaves him unable to make new memories. Doctors test Sammy but can’t find anything wrong; and as a result, Leonard denies Sammy’s claim, gets a big bonus and a promotion while Sammy, on the other hand, loses everything. In a twist of fate, Leonard suffers a head injury that leaves him unable to make new memories. Unlike Sammy, though, Leonard has a system and organizes his life around notes and routine. He also has friends like Natalie, a waitress whose boyfriend is double-crossed and killed in a drug deal. Leonard also has his friend Teddy, an undercover cop who doesn’t trust Natalie and wants him to leave town. It’s confusing, Natalie telling him 1 thing and Teddy telling him something else. But Leonard manages to keep it all together by writing and tattooing notes all over his body except for 1 empty space over his heart, for John G., the man who stole his memories and murdered his wife.

Memento’s plot is structured off of Leonard Shelby’s inability to remember anything for more than 5 minutes. The film plays out in reverse in which scenes are divided and mixed up so that they begin with an act (or fact) and end by playing out everything that happens before the fact (everything that he forgets) in order to show how facts change depending on purpose and intent.

Emotions can shape facts. Mrs. Jankis sees Sammy’s condition as real because she is his wife and loves him; Leonard has no emotional attachment to Sammy and sees him as a potential faker. Leonard’s bedside manner is callous when he tells her that he sees no reason for Sammy not to be able to make memories. Even though Mrs. Jankis and Leonard are looking at the same person in Sammy Jankis, their interpretation of this fact changes within the context of their emotions. This proves Teddy’s existential argument that a fact--in and of itself--is as unreliable as memory unless you know how and why the fact exists, its intent, and its purpose. Emotions also help us to remember things. We may forget details but impressions like fear, anger, pain, and pleasure stay with us. Leonard’s desire to find his wife’s killer changes the meaning--or context--of why Natalie is helping him. He believes that she is helping him out of pity but she is really helping him to knock off Teddy who double-crosses her boyfriend Jimmy in the drug deal. Compare this with Sammy Jankis and how he keeps picking up the same electrified objects over and over in spite of the pain. The unreliability of facts is also illustrated when Leonard kills the wrong man and Teddy tells him that the man he killed was the right man to him and to enjoy it while he still remembers.

Leonard’s polaroids are a way of him preserving unfelt experiences, like someone attending a sporting event or a concert and recording it on a phone instead of experiencing it in the moment. For example, when Natalie asks Leonard why he seeks a revenge that he won’t remember, Leonard tells her that he’ll just take a picture or get a tattoo.

Memento is still my favorite Christopher Nolan film. Everything about it is perfect from the cast featuring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano. The script which I read before writing this review is also amazing as well as the short story it’s based on by Jonathan Nolan. What a tag-team! If there was ever a case for gender bias in Hollywood, this film is the best example. Despite the excellent editing Dody Dorn did on this film, she only received a nomination. By the way, she also edited James Cameron’s T2: Judgement Day. The film has also been recognized by the scientific community for its realistic depiction of short term memory loss. If you haven’t seen Memento, you should to know why Nolan’s Batman Trilogy set the standard it did.

The Exorcist pits God against science: a review and breakdown in under 7 mins

There's trouble in Washington! Father Damien Karras has lost his faith in God; a film director’s body--with its head twisted backwards--is found outside of a girl’s bedroom window; at an archeological site in Northern Iraq, Priest Lankester Merrin digs up an ancient relic called Pazuzu.

The Exorcist is a 1973 supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel. The novel and film were inspired by a 1949 exorcism involving a 12 year old boy named Roland Doe that took place at Alexian Brothers Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max Von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Jason Miller, and Linda Blair.

In the film, the 12-year old daughter of film actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) struggles with depression following her parents’ separation. Her depression deepens when her father--who is living in Rome--forgets to call and wish her happy birthday. Regan invents an imaginary friend named Captain Howdy that she communicates with by Ouija board. One night while Regan’s asleep, a draft enters the open window of her room. After this, strange noises begin coming from the attic. Regan begins to act out of character by mutilating her face and using profanity. Her mother takes her to doctors and psychiatrists who find nothing wrong. A doctor suggests a priest to perform an exorcism on Regan. Chris is defiant and even insulted by the suggestion but concedes to it after the body of a film director is found outside the girl’s bedroom window. A local parish refers Chris to Father Damien Karras who is losing his faith and dealing with his aging mother who is suffering from dementia. Having studied psychiatry at the best colleges, Karras sees Regan’s behavioral problems as a clinical issue and not a spiritual one. He agrees to see Regan but only as a psychiatrist, not as a priest.

The Exorcist is more than a simple horror movie about a 12 year old girl possessed by the Devil. The Exorcist is also a metaphor of how science replaced God to become a world religion. In the film, doctors have become priests and hospitals have become temples. Spiritual issues like Regan’s depression over her parents’ separation are treated like physical problems.

For example, notice how hostile Chris becomes upon discovering a cross that someone put under Regan’s pillow. When Regan tells Chris that she doesn’t feel good, notice Chris’s response when she tells Regan to just take some pills and everything will be all right like the doctor said. Father Karras resorts to alcoholism to address spiritual anguish and guilt over his mother’s death.

There are Biblical parallels in The Exorcist as well. There’s a scene where Chris is entertaining guests, one of whom happens to be an astronaut. Regan crashes the party, pisses on herself, and says to this astronaut “You’re all gonna die up there.” I always thought that this was just a random scene until I put it in the overall context of the Devil using science to cut man off from God. I then saw the metaphor of the astronaut as that of a high-tech version of Satan rebelling against God in chapter 14 of the book of Isaiah:

“I’ll go up to the cloud tops; I'll be like the Most High!"

Regan’s self-inflicted wounds are also understood in a Biblical context. As she has made herself ugly, we have perverted nature, ourselves and the world through greed, vanity, wars, and lust. Karras asks Merrin why the Devil would disfigure Regan and Merrin tells him that it is because the Devil wants to separate us from God by making us so ugly that God could not possibly forgive us. In other words, Merrin is telling Karras that the Devil wants us to feel too ashamed to face God because of our sins. This not only applies to Regan but also to Karras who feels ashamed for not taking better care of his dead mother. Now, compare this to the book of Genesis after God tells Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. After eating the fruit of this forbidden tree and disobeying God, what does Adam do? He hides himself from God to hide his shame. Ultimately, I saw the film as God using the girl to reconcile Himself with man through Karras who abandons his faith because of his education and his shame over his mother’s death.

Before directing this film, William Friedkin had done, in my opinion, 1 of the greatest crime thrillers in 1971s The French Connection. The Exorcist is the 1st horror film to be nominated for a Best Picture award at the Oscars, nominated for 10 Oscars in all and winning 2 for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. When I think of the best horror films, my top 3 are James Whale’s The Bride of Frankenstein, Brian DePalma’s Carrie and this film. The Exorcist was filmed on location in Mosul, Iraq and Georgetown, Washington. Real priests were brought in as technical advisers on the exorcism scenes. Even after 45 years this film still holds up pretty well. There are 2 versions of the film but I recommend the Director’s cut.