page_title: Through a Glass Darkly (film)
section_title: Filming
hierarchical_section_title: Through a Glass Darkly (film) / Production / Filming
caption_attribution_description: English: Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007), Swedish stage and film director, and Sven Nykvist (1922–2006), cinematographer. Photo: During the principal cinematography of Through a Glass Darkly (Såsom i en spegel), 1961, at Fårö island. Svensk Filmindustri (SF) press (publicity) photo. Photographer unknown. Source: Svenska filminstitutet.
context_page_description: Through a Glass Darkly is a 1961 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and starring Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow and Lars Passgård. The film tells the story of a schizophrenic young woman vacationing with her family on a remote island, during which time she experiences delusions about meeting God, who ultimately appears to her in the form of a monstrous spider. Meanwhile, her author father attempts to use her illness in his work, and her brother struggles with sexual frustration.
  Bergman structured the film as a three-act play, drawing on his personal experiences and relationships. The film was his first of several shot on the island of Fårö, at the recommendation of cinematographer Sven Nykvist. The score incorporates the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Themes explored include the equation of God with love, exploitation in art, psychosis, and sexuality.
  Through a Glass Darkly was released to positive reviews, specifically for Andersson's performance, and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was followed by Bergman's thematically related 1963 films Winter Light and The Silence.
context_section_description: Through a Glass Darkly was filmed on the island of Fårö, at cinematographer Sven Nykvist's recommendation. It was Bergman's first film shot there, where he would film several more. Nykvist developed his style with the film, employing few camera movements. The director and cinematographer had very serious conversations in which they rethought how lighting should be employed. Nykvist and Bergman also planned to make Through a Glass Darkly as their first colour film collaboration, but were unhappy with the look of the colour shots they tested.
  The film relies on natural sounds to convey silence in the characters' lives, with cello music after the incest scene being an exception. Four interpretations of Sarabande from Suite No. 2 in D minor for Cello, BWV 1008 by Johann Sebastian Bach are used in the film, with cellist Erling Blöndal Bengtsson providing all of them.
caption: Cinematographer Sven Nykvist and director Ingmar Bergman shooting Through a Glass Darkly.
exif: {}