Winter Light

film by Bergman [1963]

Also known as: “Nattsvardsgästerna”, “The Communicants”

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July 15, 2026

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Winter Light (Swedish: Nattvardsgästerna) is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It is the second film in Bergman's "Silence of God" trilogy, following Through a Glass Darkly and preceding The Silence.12

The film centers on Tomas, a disillusioned pastor, who struggles with his faith and his inability to connect with those around him, particularly his lover Märta and a troubled parishioner named Jonas. Bergman uses a stark, minimalist style to explore themes of spiritual doubt, the absence of God, and the profound loneliness of the human condition. The film is noted for its bleak depiction of human vulnerability and torment.1

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Ingmar Bergman
Life
…films, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence, dealing with the borderline between sanity and madness and that between human contact and total withdrawal, was regarded by many as his crowning achievement. Through a Glass Darkly won an Academy Award for best foreign film.
Read More
…films, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence, dealing with the borderline between sanity and madness and that between human contact and total withdrawal, was regarded by many as his crowning achievement. Through a Glass Darkly won an Academy Award for best foreign film.
Read More