Ingmar Bergman is the Oscar-winning Swedish auteur who helped bring international cinema into the American art houses with his stark, brooding dramas. But how many of his titles remain classics? Let’s take a look back at 25 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
Born in 1918 in Uppsala, Sweden, Bergman started off as a screenwriter before moving into directing. His early hits “Summer with Monika” (1953), “Sawdust and Tinsel” (1953) and “Smiles of a Summer Night” (1955) helped make him a favorite amongst American audiences hungry for world cinema.
He hit his stride in 1957 with a pair of noteworthy titles: “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal.” Both films dealt with the absence of God and the inevitability of mortality — the former concerning an aging professor (Victor Sjostrom) coming to terms with his life, the latter focusing on a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot) — themes the director would explore throughout his work.
Bergman tickled the Academy’s fancy multiple times, winning Oscars in Best Foreign Language Film for “The Virgin Spring” (1960), “Through a Glass Darkly” (1961) and “Fanny and Alexander” (1983). He earned bids for directing “Cries and Whispers” (1973), “Face to Face” (1976) and “Fanny and Alexander” and for writing “Wild Strawberries,” “Through a Glass Darkly,” “Cries and Whispers,” “Autumn Sonata” (1978) and “Fanny and Alexander.” “Cries and Whispers” also received a Best Picture nomination, a rarity for a foreign language title.
The director was notable was employing a stock company of actors, working multiple times with von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin and Harriet Andersson. Although he announced that “Fanny and Alexander” would be his last film, Bergman remained active in theater and television, returning to cinemas when he was 85-years-old with “Saraband” (2003). He died in 2007 at the age of 89.
Tour our photo gallery of Bergman’s greatest films, including some of the titles listed above, as well as “Winter Light” (1963), “Persona” (1966), “Scenes from a Marriage” (1974) and more.
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25. THE RITE (1969)
Image Credit: Svensk Filmindustri; Janus Films Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ingrid Thulin, Anders Ek, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Erik Hell, Ingmar Bergman.
One of the director’s most experimental efforts, “The Rite” centers on a trio of actors (Ingrid Thulin, Anders Ek and Gunnar Bjornstand) standing trial for producing an obscene mime show. The judge (Erik Hell) interrogates them both together and separately, with flashbacks filling in the blanks about their past lives and torrid relationships. Bergman, who also appears in the film as a priest, intended this minimal chamber piece to be a comment on censorship, basing it on his own experiences with prudent critics. Shot on a bare stage with dramatic closeups, this is a stylistic tour-de-force.
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24. THE DEVIL’S EYE (1960)
Image Credit: Svensk Filmindustri; Janus Films Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Jarl Kulle, Bibi Andersson, Stig Jarrel, Nils Poppe, Gertrud Fridh, Sture Lagerwall, Georg Funkquist, Gunnar Sjoberg, Gunna Bjornstrand.
One of the few comedies directed by the otherwise brooding Swede, “The Devil’s Eye” is also an imaginative and insightful fantasy. Stig Jarrel stars as Satan himself, who has a painful stye in his eye caused by a virginal pastor’s daughter (Bibi Andersson). He sends Don Juan (Jarl Kulle) back to Earth to spoil the woman’s virtue before her wedding, but the legendary Lothario ends up falling in love with her himself. An atypically lighthearted affair that proved Bergman was just as capable at making us chuckle as he was at making us question our existence.
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23. FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES (1980)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Robert Atzorn, Heinz Bennent, Martin Benrath, Toni Berger, Christine Buchegger.
Made during the director’s exile in Germany following his tax-related arrest in Sweden, “From the Life of the Marionettes” is a deeply disturbing trip to the dark side. A spiritual sequel to his “Scenes from a Marriage” (featuring that films’ secondary couple), it centers on Peter (Robert Atzorn), a businessman who murders a prostitute in a seemingly random act of violence. An investigation uncovers his motives for the crime, which stem from his desire to kill his wife, Katarina (Christine Buchegger). Shot in black-and-white with two color sequences at the beginning and end.
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22. FACE TO FACE (1976)
Image Credit: Cinematograph Ab/De Laurentiis/Kobal/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Gunner Bjornstrand, Aino Taube, Kristina Adolphson.
Bergman’s fascination with symbolism gets taken to a whole new level in this piercing psychological drama. “Face to Face” features Liv Ullmann (his favorite cinematic muse) as a psychiatrist suffering a nervous breakdown. Haunted by images from her past and the specter of a one-eyed old woman, she attempts suicide. Throughout, the film employs dreams and Freudian images to convey her mental deterioration. Bergman earned an Oscar nomination for directing, while Ullmann competed in Best Actress. Originally filmed as a multi-part miniseries and paired down to a theatrical feature.
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21. SARABAND (2003)
Image Credit: Bengt Wanselius/Sveriges Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Borje Ahlstedt, Julia Dufvenius, Gunnel Fred.
Bergman retired from film with 1983’s “Fanny and Alexander,” continuing to work in theater and television. He returned to cinemas with 2003’s “Saraband,” made when he was 85 years old, and it’s a proper sendoff for the filmmaker. A sequel to his 1974 “Scenes from a Marriage,” it finds Marianne (Liv Ullmann) reuniting with her ex-husband, Johan (Erland Josephson), 30 years after divorcing him. Meanwhile, Johan is undergoing a crisis with his adult son (Borje Ahlstedt) and granddaughter (Julia Dufvenius). Cinephiles will get a nostalgic kick out of watching Ullmann and Josephson work with Bergman again after so many years.
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20. SUMMER INTERLUDE (1951)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Screenplay by Ingmar Bergman and Herbert Grevenius, story by Bergman. Starring Maj-Britt Nilsson, Birger Malmsten, Alf Kjellin, Annalisa Ericson, Georg Funkquist, Stig Olin, Mimi Pollak, Renee Bjorling, Gunnar Olsson.
“Summer Interlude” finds Bergman finally coming into his own, exploring some of the themes and stylistic tropes that would animate his greatest work. Maj-Britt Nilsson stars as a successful ballerina reflecting on a doomed romance from her youth while preparing for a performance of “Swan Lake.” Through flashbacks, we catch glimpses of her summer on an island with a possessive uncle (Georg Funkquist), where she fell in love with a handsome student (Birger Malmsten) who suffered a tragic demise. With his tenth film, Bergman firmly established himself as a major cinematic voice to watch.
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19. THE PASSION OF ANNA (1969)
Image Credit: Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson, Erik Hell, Sigge Furst.
A sequel of sorts to Bergman’s 1968 “Shame” — shot on the same location in Faro island and once again starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann — “The Passion of Anna” is a stylistically inventive domestic drama. Von Sydow plays a reclusive man living alone on an island who begins an affair with an emotionally-damaged widow (Ullmann). Bibi Andersson costars as his neighbor, with whom he also had a brief romance. Bergman periodically intersperses the drama with direct-to-camera interviews with his actors discussing their characters, making for a fascinating blend of fiction and documentary.
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18. THE MAGICIAN (1958)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Max von Sydow, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Naima Wifstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Andersson, Gertrud Fridh, Lars Ekborg, Tovio Pawlo, Erland Josephson, Ake Fridell, Sif Ruud.
Bergman’s love for mysticism and illusion animates this fascinating and psychologically penetrating supernatural thriller. “The Magician” casts the director’s favorite leading man, Max von Sydow, as Dr. Albert Volger, a 19th century illusionist who runs a traveling band of performers. His powers are put to the test when he’s invited to stage a show in a small Stockholm village, where a local doctor (Gunnar Bjornstrand) calls him out as a fraud. And that’s when things start to get real spooky. This is not one to watch alone in the dark, unless you want to luxuriate in its moody, gloomy atmosphere.
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17. THE MAGIC FLUTE (1975)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, based on the opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Starring Josef Kostlinger, Irma Urrila, Hakan Hagegard, Elisabeth Erikson, Ulrik Cold, Birgit Nordin, Ragnar Ulfung, Erik Saeden, Britt-Marie Aruhn, Birgitta Smiding, Kirsten Vaupel, Ansgar Krook, Urban Malmberg, Erland von Heijne.
In bringing Mozart’s classic opera to the screen, Bergman produces a lighthearted celebration of music, spectacle and love. It’s also a tribute to the art of stagecraft, with the director meticulously recreating Stockholm’s 18th century Dottingholm Court Theater to stage the action on, complete with facades and theatrical special effects. Yet this is far from a filmed play (although it does often cut to an audience): rather, it’s a delightfully cinematic retelling of Prince Tamino’s (Josef Kostlinger) journey to save the beautiful princess Pamina (Irma Urrila). An Oscar nominee for its costumes and Golden Globe contender for Best Foreign Language Film.
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16. HOUR OF THE WOLF (1968)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gertrud Fridh, George Rydeberg, Erland Josephson, Naima Wifstrand, Ulf Johanson, Gudrun Brost, Bertil Anderberg, Ingrid Thulin.
In his sole horror film, Bergman tackles some of the demons that haunted him throughout his lifetime. Max von Sydow stars as a painter vacationing on the island of Faro with his pregnant wife (Liv Ullmann). Tormented by surreal visions and insomnia, he begins to suffer a mental breakdown. Things get even weirder when the couple is invited to dine at a secluded castle. Bergman fills the screen with unsettling and disturbing images, many of them drawn from his own nightmares. He also creates a fascinating and singular portrait of a tortured artist, placing us squarely in the fragile psyche of his main character.
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15. SUMMER WITH MONIKA (1953)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Screenplay by Ingmar Bergman and Per Anders Fogelstrom, based on the book by Fogelstrom. Starring Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, John Harryson, Georg Skarstedt, Dagmar Ebbesen, Ake Fridell, Naemi Briese, Ake Gronberg, Sigge Furst.
By the time it reached U.S. screens, “Summer with Monika” already had a scintillating reputation for its daring use of nudity. Audiences flocked to get a glimpse of Harriet Andersson in undress, and were shocked to find not a skin-flick, but rather a thoughtful, nuanced domestic drama. It centers on a pair of Stockholm teenagers (Andersson and Lars Ekborg) who escape their dismal working class lives for a romantic getaway on the beach. When Monika becomes pregnant, their adolescent love affair starts to fray with the realities of adulthood. An international success that helped further establish Bergman as a director on the rise.
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14. AUTUMN SONATA (1978)
Image Credit: Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Bjork, Arne Bang-Hansen, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Erland Josephson, Georg Lokkeberg, Linn Ullmann.
Screen legend Ingrid Bergman (no relation) gave her final film performance in Bergman’s searing family drama. She plays Charlotte Andergast, an accomplished concert pianist whose estranged daughter (Liv Ullmann) returns after seven years away, bringing along her paralyzed sister (Lena Nyman). Watching these two performers go head-to-head with each other during a long day’s journey into night is absolutely mesmerizing. Both Bergmans earned Oscar nominations for the film: Ingrid in acting, Ingmar in screenwriting. Additionally, it won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.
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13. SAWDUST AND TINSEL (1953)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ake Gronberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek, Gudrun Brost, Annike Tretow, Erik Strandmark, Gunnar Bjorstrand, Curt Lowgren, Kiki.
“Sawdust and Tinsel” was Bergman’s first collaboration with cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who would go on to win Oscars for the director’s “Cries and Whispers” and “Fanny and Alexander.” It’s a visually striking film about the ins-and-outs of a dilapidated traveling circus in turn of the century Sweden. Ake Gronberg stars as the owner, who’s carrying on an affair with a much-younger horseback rider (Harriet Andersson). When he stops in a town to visit his estranged wife (Gudrun Brost) and sons, she decides to have an affair with an actor (Hasse Ekman). Bergman uses flashbacks and symbolism to create a trancelike study of thwarted dreams and frayed relationships.
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12. THE SILENCE (1963)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindbloom, Birger Malmsten, Hakan Jahnberg, Jorgen Lindstrom.
“The Silence” wraps up a trilogy of chamber pieces Bergman produced in the early 1960s, following “Through a Glass Darkly” and “Winter Light.” Like its predecessors, it’s a stark, somber drama about the absence of God in a modern world. It centers on two emotionally estranged sisters — the smart, frail Ester (Ingrid Thulin) and the sexy, resentful Anna (Gunnel Lindbloom) — who travel by train with Anna’s 10-year-old son (Jorgen Lindstrom) to a Central European country on the brink of war. Stranded at a hotel and isolated by their surroundings, the two engage in a battle of wills that destroys their relationship. Controversial upon its release for its strikingly explicit sexuality, leading to a box office boom from curious audiences.
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11. SHAME (1968)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Liv Ullmann, Max von Sydow, Sigge Furst, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Birgitta Valberg, Hans Alfredson, Ingvar Kjellson, Frank Sundstrom, Ulf Johansson, Vilgot Sjoman, Bengt Eklund, Gosta Pruzelius, Barbro Hiort af Ornas.
Released at a time when the U.S. was sending more troops to Vietnam, “Shame” works as a powerful and mesmerizing indictment of any global combat. Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann star as married violinists who retreat to a secluded island when a civil war breaks out in their homeland. But the conflict soon catches up to them, destroying their lives and fracturing their relationship. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist employs a black-and-white, documentary style that puts audiences right in the middle of warfare, aided by some harrowing special effects. But it’s the battle between Ullmann and von Sydow that provides the true fireworks. A Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
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10. WINTER LIGHT (1963)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Gunnar Bjorstrand, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Max von Sydow, Allan Edwall, Kolbjorn Knudsen, Olof Thunberg, Elsa Ebbesen.
The second in Bergman’s trilogy of chamber dramas (preceded by “Through a Glass Darkly” and followed by “The Silence”), “Winter Light” is one of the director’s gloomiest examinations of God’s absence in mankind. Gunnar Bjorstrand stars as a small town priest who has lost his passion for spreading the gospel. When a troubled parishioner (Max von Sydow) expresses his worry about nuclear war, he is unable to console him, instead opining on his own lack of faith. Ingrid Thulin costars as the buttoned-down schoolteacher who loves him. Shot in stark black-and-white by Sven Nykvist, this is brutal, somber examination of our struggle to live in a dismal world, one that served as inspiration for Paul Schrader’s “First Reformed” (2018).
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9. SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT (1955)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Harriet Andersson, Margit Carlqvist, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Jarl Kulle, Ake Fridell, Bjorn Bjelfvenstam, Naima Wifstrand, Jullan Kindahl, Gull Natorp, Birgitta Valberg, Bibi Andersson.
The greatest of Bergman’s (very few) comedies, “Smiles of a Summer Night” was also the director’s international breakthrough, an art house hit that turned him into a world renowned talent. Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, it centers on a middle-aged lawyer (Gunnar Bjornstrand), his 19-year-old wife (Ulla Jacobsen), his student son (Bjorn Bjelfvenstam), his actress former lover (Eva Dahlbeck), her new beau (Jarl Kulle), his wife (Margit Carlqvist) and a flirtatious maid (Harriet Andersson) who spend a weekend in the country together. In the evening, romance blossoms and comedy ensues. It’s a treat watching the usually brooding filmmaker work with such a nimble touch, crafting a witty, delightful entertainment.
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8. THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Written by Ulla Isaksson. Starring Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson, Ove Porath, Axel Duberg, Tor Isedal, Allan Edwall.
“The Virgin Spring” proved to be one of Bergman’s most influential titles, especially for Wes Craven, who remade it in 1972 as the exploitation horror flick “The Last House on the Left.” Adapted from a 13th century Swedish folk ballad, it’s a dark, unrelenting drama about medieval violence and vengeance. Max von Sydow stars as a prominent land-owner whose virginal daughter (Birgitta Pettersson) is brutally raped and murdered by a trio of goat herders. When the killers seek refuge in her father’s home, he discovers their crime and exacts his revenge. The film brought Bergman his first of three Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and competed for its costumes.
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7. THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (1961)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjorstrand, Max von Sydow, Lars Passgard.
The first of Bergman’s trilogy of austere chamber pieces (followed by “Winter Light” and “The Silence”), “Through a Glass Darkly” is powerful in its simplicity. Shot with just four actors on Faro island, it centers on a young woman (Harriet Andersson) recovering from a mental breakdown with her psychiatrist father (Gunner Bjorstrand), husband (Max von Sydow) and younger brother (Lars Passgard). When she finds out that her dad is using her condition for his own research papers, she slips further from reality, culminating in a vision of God as a giant spider. The film earned Bergman his second consecutive Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and brought him a nomination in Best Original Screenplay.
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6. SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (1974)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Bibi Andersson, Jan Malmsjo, Gunnel Lindblom, Wenche Foss, Anita Wall, Barbo Hiort af Ornas.
With “Scenes from a Marriage,” Bergman makes an epic out of the mundanity of life. Originally produced as a six-part limited series for Swedish television before being released as a nearly three hour feature, it chronicles several years in the lives of a married couple (Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson). It’s an uncompromising portrait of a relationship in crisis, detailing their fights, infidelities, separation and, ultimately, their love. The film won the Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film and earned Ullmann a Best Drama Actress nomination, yet was completely ignored by the Academy, a rarity for the director. Bergman, Ullmann and Josephson reunited in 2003 for the sequel “Saraband.”
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5. WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)
Image Credit: Snap/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Victor Sjostrom, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Jullan Kindahl, Folke Sundquist, Bjorn Bjelfvenstam, Naima Wifstrand, Gunnel Brostrom, Gertrud Fridh, Ake Fridh, Sif Ruud, Gunnar Sjoberg, Max von Sydow.
With “Wild Strawberries” and “The Seventh Seal,” both released in 1957, Bergman finally came into his own as a filmmaker. Both explored themes that would animate his greatest works: God’s silence, the inevitability of death and the meaning of life. Swedish film legend Victor Sjostrom stars as an aging professor traveling to accept an honorary degree. Along the way, he must confront his past and come to grips with his dwindling future. The director uses dream sequences, flashbacks and fantasies to paint a full portrait of this ordinary man’s life, made extraordinary by his leading man. The international hit brought Bergman his first Oscar nomination for screenwriting and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.
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4. FANNY AND ALEXANDER (1982)
Image Credit: Snap Stills/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Borje Ahlstedt, Pernilla Allwin, Allan Edwall, Ewa Froling, Bertil Guve, Jarl Kulle, Mona Malm, Christina Schollin, Pernilla Wallgren, Gun Wallgren, Marianne Aminoff, Harriet Andersson, Jan Malmsjo, Kerstin Tidelius, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Per Mattson, Erland Josephson, Stina Ekblad, Mats Bergman.
Bergman announced that “Fanny and Alexander” would be his final film, and although he continued to work in theater and television (and released “Saraband” in cinemas), this three-hour epic certainly feels like the final summation of his career. Drawn from his own memories, it centers on a large, wealthy family in Uppsala, seen through the eyes of child siblings Fanny (Pernilla Allwin) and Alexander (Bertil Guve). Filled with warmth, mysticism and fantasy, it is perhaps the most personal work from the famously self-probing filmmaker. The Academy showered it with four Oscars (Foreign Film, Cinematography, Costumes and Art Direction) and gave Bergman nominations for writing and directing. Also released as a five-hour limited series.
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3. PERSONA (1966)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Jorgen Lindstrom.
The most experimental work from a director who often reveled in stylistic innovation, “Persona” is both complex and simple at the same time. Liv Ullmann stars as an actress who stops speaking during a performance of “Elektra,” apparently shocked to silence by the horrors of the world. A young nurse (Bibi Andersson) is tasked with caring for her at a remote island house, and the two slowly begin to morph into each other. The film features several striking, disturbing images — mostly of the two actress’s faces — shot in inky black-and-white by Sven Nykvist. Bergman comments on the nature of cinema and existence through montage, monologue and symbolism, creating a reflective, haunting and unforgettable experience.
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2. CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann, Anders Ek, Erland Josephson, Henning Moritzen, Georg Arlin, Inga Gill.
More than any other Bergman title, “Cries and Whispers” forces its viewers to confront unbearable darkness before granting us light. It centers on a woman (Harriet Andersson) slowly dying of cancer, her emotionally distant sisters (Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann) and the loving nurse (Kari Sylwan) who unselfishly cares for her. Through flashbacks and dream sequences, the movie delves into the painful past that has destroyed this family. Sven Nykvist’s lush, Oscar-winning cinematography enshrouds us in a red cloak of fear and disquiet, almost like something out of a nightmare. The rare foreign film to compete in Best Picture, it also brought Bergman nominations for writing and directing, and contended for its costumes.
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1. THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)
Image Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Max von Sydow, Inga Landgre, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson, Bengt Ekerot, Ake Fridell, Inga Gill.
Bergman created no more memorable image than that of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) playing chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot) on a beach, which has been copied and parodied countless times. The film, which finds von Sydow returning to a Plague-infested Sweden after fighting in the Crusades and challenging Death to a chess game to stave off his own demise, asks big questions about the nature of life and death, and of God’s deafening silence in the world of man. The director uses bold, haunting images to tell his story about our quest to avoid time’s inevitable outcome. It’s a theme that would persist throughout the entirety of his best work, never so literally or beautifully as it was in this mesmerizing masterpiece.
