Winter Light

Winter Light
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIngmar Bergman
Written byIngmar Bergman
Produced byAllan Ekelund
StarringIngrid Thulin
Gunnar Björnstrand
Max von Sydow
Gunnel Lindblom
CinematographySven Nykvist
Edited byUlla Ryghe
Release date
  • 11 February 1963 (1963-02-11)
Running time
81 minutes
CountrySweden
LanguageSwedish

Winter Light (Swedish: Nattvardsgästerna, lit.'The Communicants') is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring his regulars, Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. It follows Tomas Ericsson (Björnstrand), pastor of a small rural Swedish church, as he deals with an existential crisis and his Christianity.

The film is the second in a series of thematically related films, following Through a Glass Darkly (1961) and followed by The Silence (1963); this is sometimes considered a trilogy. In it, Bergman reconsiders Through a Glass Darkly's argument that God is love, and repeated the prior film's reference to God as a monstrous spider.

Bergman formed the story after speaking to a clergyman whose parishioner committed suicide. The film was shot in different locations in Sweden in 1962. Vilgot Sjöman's film Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie was made simultaneously with Winter Light and documents its production. The feature received positive reviews for its cinematography and themes.