Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

      View All
      Movies Tv shows Movie Trivia News Showtimes

      Winter Light

      1962, Drama, 1h 20m

      23 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

      You might also like

      See More
      The Last Laugh
      The Town Is Quiet
      Fallen Angels
      The Face of Another
      The Golden Coach

      Where to watch Winter Light

      Rent/buy Rent/buy

      Rent Winter Light on Vudu, Apple TV, or buy it on Vudu, Apple TV.

      Rate And Review

      User image

      Verified

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)



      • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Step 2 of 2

        How did you buy your ticket?

        Let's get your review verified.

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

        You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)

      • How did you buy your ticket?

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

      Winter Light  Photos

      Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962) Winter Light (1962)

      Movie Info

      A Swedish pastor (Gunnar Björnstrand) fails a loving woman (Ingrid Thulin), a suicidal fisherman (Gunnel Lindblom) and God.

      • Genre: Drama

      • Original Language: Swedish

      • Director: Ingmar Bergman

      • Producer: Allan Ekelund

      • Writer: Ingmar Bergman

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: Janus Films, Criterion Collection

      • Production Co: Svensk Filmindustri (SF) AB

      • Sound Mix: Mono

      Cast & Crew

      Ingrid Thulin
      Gunnar Björnstrand
      Gunnel Lindblom
      Max von Sydow
      Allan Edwall
      Kolbjörn Knudsen
      Olof Thunberg
      Sven Nykvist
      Ulla Ryghe

      News & Interviews for Winter Light

      Critic Reviews for Winter Light

      Audience Reviews for Winter Light

      • Oct 08, 2015

        Winter Light is a short but well-made and well-acted film, but difficult to characterize. It strangely exercises intellect more than emotion, as compared with Through a Glass Darkly or Persona or The Silence. Winter's Light is more detached, like watching someone paint a portrait of someone and another.

        Super Reviewer
      • Jan 12, 2012

        Loss of faith and the silence of god - subject matter that makes this movie, in a word, fascinating.

        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 28, 2011

        The entire film takes place over a three hour period one afternoon in a cold and lonely swedish village. Tomas is the preacher at a church where attendance has dwindled so much it can be counted on one hand. But it's difficult to expect people to come hear someone preach when his own faith lacks conviction. Pastor Tomas has the "old schoolmarm" (played by Ingrid Thulin- who was 37 at the time) looking after him... well, actually the two are having an affair, albeit a rather passionless one. Even though she loves Tomas deeply, he refuses to return her love, as he's still mourning the loss of his wife. In one scene, Tomas tells a suicidal parishioner about his time spent on the battlefield during the war, where he witnessed brutality that contradicted everything God represented to him until his God became a compartmentalized, secret thing that only his wife could really help him to understand. It's his mistress who wants to fill that void in his life, but Tomas can only mire himself in what he calls "God's silence". With Winter Light, writer/director Ingmar Bergman tells a very basic, straightforward story that is wrought with painful and very real emotions. Like characters from many other Bergman films, pastor Tomas is so wrapped up in his own pain, so self-absorbed, he fails to have any empathy whatsoever to his fellow man. It's not so much his beliefs (or God) have failed him so much as he's failed his beliefs. There is much weakness in these characters, but also much strength. What does one do when they think they've uncovered some unalterable truth that everything they've believed in is a lie? How does a mind recover from unbearably naked revelations? Tomas tries so hard to maintain the lie he lives that the only logical result is the resentment of existence itself.

        Super Reviewer
      • Oct 02, 2011

        <i>"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."</i> (John 15:5) Second part of the auteur's trilogy dealing with man's relationship with God. It is literally impossible to relate with this masterpiece's protagonist unless you are a son of God. <i>"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."</i> (John 1:12) What is so absolutely accurate and brilliant about the movie is the fact that it states how agnostics, atheists, etc. lose their credibility in God based on the actions of humans, not even considering that humans are not perfect, but God is. If a pastor or so-called Christian has a weakness in faith or "indifference towards Jesus Christ", the God does not exist and their own, objective judgment is immediately blinded. Also: + The main mistake of the pastor was to compare the earthly conditions of his existence and the disaster surrounding his life with God; hence, he tried to create an image of God according to his own troubles. He put his eyes in the circumstances (the storm and the waves) instead of Christ (Matthew 14: 15-22). + In his egoism, he forgot the responsabilities of the pastor: to guide his flock to God and to a heart of Christ. The result? Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 9:36. + His actions, naturally, will have consequences in his life directly derived from God's discipline (Zachariah 34: 1-31). God is mentioned as a spider again; the sickness continues; the landscape still speaks mysteries... 99/100

        Super Reviewer

      Movie & TV guides

      View All