Virgin Darkness

I started the "Bergman Experience" with the youtube video that interviewed him on his private island.  It was clear that he was a reclusive man and uninterested in the happenings of the modern world.  I was surprised to see the type of life he had decided to life and what led to him living that way.  By the end of the clip, I realized that I had seen his film The Seventh Seal in high school.  I recalled it being deep fantasy and dark.  Beyond that, I really had no other memory of the plot.  

Going into The Virgin Spring I really had no idea what to expect.  The film appeared to be set in the late 1800s and I feel it achieved representing that time well.  The tradition of the virgin delivering the candles to church was new for me.  Is that something that happens after the spring thaw or is it more regular?  I've always known that virgins, in that time, were regarded as extremely sacred and special, but I was unaware how the non-virgin maidens were treated as such deviants in society.  

The movie followed a fairly predictable course: introduction of the main characters; set the scene for the activity of the movie; the journey to the church, but then the introduction of the old man on the creek and the killing of the virgin were very unexpected events.  I did not understand who, or what purpose, the old man at the creek was or served.  Then the rape and killing of the virgin was a major shock.  The realism and brutality of that scene, I believe sent shivers down all of our spines.  The darkness in contrast to this beautiful spring setting was overpowering.  I started to ask the question to myself, "if this journey is so long or dangerous, why did she almost travel alone or feel at ease during the entire trip?" 

I was puzzled throughout the movie by the involvement of the frog.  What purpose did it serve and what did it represent?   

Movie Response

The Virgin Spring had the special quality of being relevant in today's society despite being filmed about 50 years ago. In the 60s, it would have challenged the mainstream's ideas about sex and violence in film as well as religious ideals. Today, it still encourages conversation about who God is, what his role is in human life, and if there even is a God. I also felt that it posed a question about the validity of capital punishment as a method of justice.

I was especially impressed with Bergman's ability to make the rape feel as violating and uncomfortable for the viewer as it did despite it not being outrageously graphic by today's standards. The actions of the characters included subtleties that added numerous layers to the their motives and the story as a whole. This is why it was so interesting to hear from Professor Cohen about different aspects of the movie. He pointed out the meaning of details that I hadn't even considered. I currently plan on watching The Seventh Seal over fall break -- he basically made me a Bergman fan over the course of his talk.

Liz - Movie Response

I was honestly pretty horrified after watching the majority of this movie. It seems to be in-keeping with the theme of morbidity in Scandinavian fiction (children's books excluded). As for what I think will happen next, the girls father has a butcher knife, and they have shown virtually ever other graphic scene in it's entirety, the last scene will probably be no different. Duly noted is the lack of music; it makes for a very exhausting plot with nothing to guide the audience emotionally.

Virgin Spring Response

I thought the movie was excellent. Although I am not a movie buff, I have seen other Bergman films, and they usually include a lot of suspense. This one definitely follows in his tragic and suspenseful themes. I was very interested in the relationship between the father and the daughter, as I felt the mother was jealous of her husband, and wanted to receive more affection back from her daughter, which is why she bent over backwards to please her. I am also surprised the father did not kill Ingerid. She seems to cause a lot of trouble, and it killed me that she just stood there and watched her "sister" get raped and murdered. It was extremely graphic and somewhat shocking to see, however, it really added to the plot, and I cannot wait to see what more is in store and how it ends!

Virgin Spring Response

Like many on this blog have already admitted I had my doubts when the movie first started. It seemed to be a slow moving black and white film with no action. As the movie progressed, I realized how wrong I was, and I found the movie really interesting. After we finished watching the movie on Monday, I did some background searching and found out that the movie takes place in the 1300s and was made in 1960. It was obviously a highly controversial film at the time, but it also won many awards, a lot of which were foreign film awards. The most noted controversies were obviously the rape scene, but also the scene where the boy is throwing up, and it is believed to be the first film that showed that on screen. As for predictions for the ending, I think that the father will murder the guilty men, and I think it will be interesting to see if the film depicts the living sister and the rest of her life and whether or not she feels guilty. I am anxious to see how the movie ends.

Virgin Spring

Virgin Spring definitely started off very slowly, but after a bit it became very suspenseful and intriguing. When it was slow in the beginning, I found myself looking for themes and other cinematic strategies. While cinematic techniques do not have much to do with Scandinavian, or specifically, Swedish culture, one of the themes definitely did. The theme of the Norse God's versus Christianity prevailed throughout the film. To me, it seemed as though Bergman favored Christianity. Ingeri represented the old Norse Gods, while the innocent wealthy daughter represented Christianity. The vast majority of characters prayed to the Christian God for simple and nice things like for God not to smite them on that day. Ingeri, on the other hand, prayed for and "willed" the daughter's rape/murder to happen. However, she did feel extreme guilt and confessed. Perhaps the ending to the movie will shed some light on which religion, if either, Bergman wants to portray as superior.

Movie Post

I'm not going to lie when I say that I was completely uninterested in watching this movie. It started out slow and confusing, but quickly picked up into a pretty suspenseful film. I am still shocked that they showed the rape/murder scene. I definitely was not expecting that. Overall, I think this movie is very good and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Bergman's Virgin Spring Reaction

What I found most interesting about the film was its portrayal of religion in Sweden in the 1300s. It reminded me of something we had discussed throughout the Icelandic Sagas class, as the sagas were written around the same time. We focused a lot on the conversion to Christianity, and how it was likely a slow transition as opposed to a sudden and abrupt change. I think the way Christianity is portrayed in the film demonstrates this, in that Ingeri makes references to Odin and the strange guy in the woods seems to practice pagan rituals, despite the fact that this is many years after the conversion and though Christianity was becoming more widespread, the presence of the pagan religion was embedded into their culture and still remained years after converison.

Response to Virgin Spring

For this to be a film from the 1960's, you can tell that it was extremely controversial. But despite the obvious, I really thought there was some unique symbolism. The pregnant sister I felt really represented that there are flaws in every family. The little boy who was with the older brothers who committed rape seemed to feel true sorrow when he couldn't even eat at night. The suspense built was a good process, because everybody is waiting for the end of the film to tie everything together. I also enjoyed some very cool camera shots, like when the father was knocking down the tree with the horizon in the background. I didn't expect to see such great qualities in such an old movie.

-Dylan

Response to Virgin Spring

Usually when I have to watch a movie for a class, I am disinterested and I keep one eye on the clock, waiting to move on with my life. While I was primed with that low expectation for Virgin Spring, I was gradually engrossed by the film. Maybe it is because it is based in a different setting than the movies I usually watch, or maybe it was the attractive blonde girl. Either way, it was a great way to learn about Bergman's work and gain a new perspective on screen arts and Sweden. Besides the educational aspect, this movie is edgy for something that was produced in 1960, and I can't wait to catch the ending on Wednesday!

Bergman Video Response

I was surprised by some of the content of the movie. Particularly the conflict between how religious the family appears to be and how they act. Ingeri is pregnant and scorned by her mother and the father seems eager to get revenge, for example. The rape scene was controversial and unexpected, and probably more so in the 1960's. I doubt it would be in many movies today, due to the graphic nature and sensitive subject matter that would offend a majority of audience members. I felt like showing it seemed unnecessarily dramatic.

The character I found most interesting was Ingeri, the other sister, because she appears to be the black sheep of the family and does not seem to follow their religious beliefs or be very popular with the mother. However, when she confesses to her father about willing Karin's death, he seemed supportive and sensitive. Overall, I also really liked the costumes and the scenery and am curious as to what occurs next.

Virgin Summer Reaction - Sam

I thought the movie was pretty good. Since the movie was created in the 1960, I thought a few of the scenes seemed rather modern for its time. I was surprised there was a rape scene shown, I am sure that scene was very controversial when it came out because I am pretty sure movies back then did not show such provocative and scandalous things. I am actually really interested in how the rest of the movie plays out, and whether or not the father seeks revenge and kills the two brothers who are still alive.

I do wish that I spoke/understood Swedish because event with the best translations you can loose some meaning. Regardless, this movie looks like it is going to be pretty good, as long as the rest of it is as good as what we saw in class already.