God's Presence or Silence in Winter Light

During Ingmar Bergman's "chamber trilogy" the issue of God's silence is continually brought to the foreground. Both Through a Glass Darkly and The Silence bring up the debate and focus almost solely on the characters beliefs. A different element seems to be forcing itself into the middle film, Winter Light, that contradicts what the characters are saying and feeling. The cinematography and mise-en-scene both imply the presence of God while the people in the film always seem to be searching for Him. Throughout the film images appear to, at least, hint at the ever presence of God in the form of Him or his son Jesus. This is not saying that the characters acknowledge His presence or believe it is there, but there is strong evidence to show these people are not seeing everything around them. As John Simon writes, Winter Light "is in three movements: (1) the morning service...and the events immediately following...in the sacristy or in the church itself; (2) at the site of the fisherman's suicide by the roaring rapids...; (3) at the more modern...church" (Simon, 143). After dissecting events from all three of these acts the images will state an opinion that differs from the characters words and actions.

The opening communion sequence is vastly important, not so much for the dialogue, but for the imagery that is methodically shown to the audience. First, it may seem unimportant, but the setting is key to this argument. The communion is taking place in a church, which may seem obvious. What is not obvious is that a church can be called "God's house", which gives God a reason to be present. The Bible backs up this claim in Matthew 18:19 when it says, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Bible, NT 15). After a long close-up of Tomas' face, a long shot of the aisle and all the attendees in the pews is given. This shows that there are about eight or nine people present. Also, at the top and center of the screen is the image of Jesus hanging on the cross, seeming to symbolize a "Godly" presence watching over the proceedings. It is important to question whether any of these people are actually gathered in the name of God and not there solely for themselves. Fortunately the film gives us close-ups of each participant in the service to show their reactions. There are definitely at least two people at the service present to worship or seek out God. One is the old lady who is emotionally involved in the singing and communion. Another is the middle aged mother who is not only teaching these beliefs to her child, but also involved strongly in prayer and singing. Simon disagrees with this and says the middle aged woman's presence is "a matter of routine and her brat of a small daughter is uninterested in the whole thing" (Simon, 147). While it's true that the daughter is uninterested, wouldn't it be easier for the mother to stay at home where the child is more interested than to bring her to church out of routine? Their presence at the service seems to show her desire to stay close to her religion, but to also bring her child up in the same manner.

During the close-ups, Tomas' face is shown with an image of God over his right shoulder, seeming to be watching over him as the Jesus statue was of the whole service. Not only does the film show this image, it repeats it soon after, driving home the symbolism of God's presence in the church. A series of shots follows that continue this representation. Peter Cowie writes about the opening service by saying that the "camera fastens in close-up on the iconography of the church", but fails to establish the reason for it (Cowie, 205). After communion, the image of God that is behind Tomas is shown by itself, revealing that he is holding another image of Jesus dying on the cross. This is followed by close-ups of the bread and wine, an extreme close-up of Jesus' dying face, a close-up of the nail in his hand, and concluding with another shot of God over Tomas. The presence of Godly imagery is given without ceasing during this series and leads one to believe that the film is telling the audience God is in the church. After establishing the different motivations for attendance through a series of close-ups, the camera gives the audience another repeat image, this time of Jesus on the cross hanging above the aisle as the people continue the service. Almost the entire service, aside from close-ups of different people, there is not one shot that is missing some representation of God or Jesus. This is interesting since most of the people present are so for their own personal gain and not for the sake of God. As Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Bible NT, 174). So the images of the people show narcissism by focusing on their faces and not on the images of God, but He is still present (as seen on numerous occasions) because at least two have faith that he is there.

Following the service is a cut to another image of Jesus dying on the cross, this one in the back room. The camera is distracted by the offering bag passing by and going towards the table, which is very telling of the state this church and its inhabitants are in. By taking the focus away from God, the money and self indulgence has taken over. The measly amount of money shows how little the parishioners give back to the church. All of these things show a lack of faith, but the statue of Jesus never fully leaves the picture. His face seems to be screaming, but no one is listening to Him. Simon writes, "As a visual refrain, a crucifix is glimpsed from time to time on the wall opposite the window" and fails to see the some significance behind the image (Simon, 153). The man with the offering sits down at the table to count the money as Tomas walks in a sits down at the table next to him. A shot of the two at the table with the Jesus statue in the middle of them follows and is held for an extreme length of time.

As the conversation goes on, it is not the dialogue or the action between the two men that catches the most attention, but the image of Jesus, famished and screaming, that attracts the audience. Neither of the men seems interested in God, even though it is there job. They have turned their backs to the creator, and the image is trying to get their attention back. Simon writes about this setting by saying, "There is only one rather narrow window...[that] has relatively small panes and is crisscrossed by slaves...The effect is that of a prison cell...suggesting the closeness, the confinement within... prisoners yearning for freedom" (Simon, 152). This confinement and prison feeling is a man-made one, however, instead of the Godly one that Simon implies. These men have lost their faith and have thus lost their way in the world and are now trapped inside of barriers that they have no way out of. Once the cripple walks in the room, the camera changes angles and the audience seems to be getting the statue's perspective. We have now been given the viewpoint of the Jesus image and, therefore, associate ourselves with it. As the cripple seeks advice from Tomas, he ignores him and forces the cripple to wait until later in the day. During this short exchange, the camera performs a shot-counter-shot with the cripple and the statue, which is interesting since Tomas is the one talking. It seems to imply that instead of reaching out to the unbelieving Tomas, the man should try to ask God about his problems and trust Him. The camera is out of place and ignored both characteristics of how Tomas feels about and will treat God throughout the rest of the film. Underlying the words and actions of the characters is an undeniable presence of God through the images.

Immediately after the cripple leaves the back room the camera cuts to Tomas with an image of the Jesus statue over his left shoulder, this time in a medium close-up, making it seem as though Jesus is right on top of him. Yet, Tomas never turns around to see the statue or make any acknowledgment of it. Instead, he is interrupted as the Persson's walk in to seek counseling. From this moment the statue seems to disappear from the camera's sight and the focus is on the three people inhabiting the room. This prolonged absence is striking because it is the longest time, up to this point, that any visual evidence of God's presence is out of sight. Instead of reading this as God deserting the people when they most need him, it should be read that the people are not truly seeking God, but only looking to gratify themselves. Tomas never references the Bible in a positive way to help Jonas and his wife through their tough time; instead he has no answers and eventually drives them away. The couple has come for Godly council, but has been given earthly drivel. As a preacher Tomas should be giving them words from "God's book", but his lack of faith has caused him to fall away from God. The Bible says in Colossians 2:5 that, "For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ", a verse the strongly applies to Tomas because a symbol of Christ's presence is in the room with him, but absent from the screen, waiting for Tomas to share his faith with Jonas (Bible NT, 157). However, Tomas has lost his way and doesn't do his job, let alone share his faith.

As the Persson's leave the back room the door swings open to show the statue of Jesus in the middle of the frame, but far away on the back wall. The three people are in the foreground exchanging their goodbyes and they have left Jesus in the background. Again the presence of God is shown in broad view of the audience, but overlooked by all the characters in the film. When Jonas comes back there are almost the same actions. At the start of their conversation, Tomas is asking him important questions, maybe on the verge of actually helping Jonas. These introductory shots include the Jesus statue in the background. Continual cuts between Jonas and Tomas reveal Jesus' disappearance from Tomas' life. Shot-counter-shots of the two continually move closer to Tomas' face, which in turn keeps cutting more of Jesus out of the picture. Towards the end Tomas' head has completely covered the face of Jesus and the dialogue shows his loss of faith.

Simon writes about this conversation by saying that, "Tomas is usually seen with the agonizing Christ in back of him, whereas Jonas tends to be haloed from behind...It is like a confrontation of two Christs, or two aspects of Christ" (Simon, 165). This doesn't seem to be the case because neither of the characters is very Christ-like in their actions or thoughts. It is Tomas that has completely lost faith in Christ and has unwittingly covered up the face of Jesus while Jonas is really on the verge of emotional and mental collapse. In fact, during this scene Tomas will speak about how he "cannot understand how God could allow the death of his wife. How can this be love by a God who is love...Such a person can only be a 'spider god-a monster' who can neither be loved nor forgiven and hence cannot be believed in" (Kalin, 7). This dialogue cannot lead to the conclusion that he represents some aspect of Christ, but that he has shut out God as a being, only to be contradicted by the visuals around him.

Going out to the site of Jonas' death is another scene that shows God's presence being ignored by "man", especially Tomas. Simon writes about how God is definitely not speaking in this scene, but says, "The entire scene is in long-shot, excluding recognizable facial play; the noise of the waters almost completely obliterates the voices of Tomas...excluding significant dialogue" (Simon, 172) and later harshly criticizes Arthur Gibson for trying to show God's voice. It says in Luke 19:40 after some Pharisees tried to quiet the disciples from worshiping God, "But Jesus answered, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!'" (Bible NT, 64). The stone are the things actually making the noise as the water bounces off of them. Even though it is not overwhelmingly loud or elegant, it would seem that they were at least tuning up since most of the people in the film have lost, or are losing faith in God. The long shot of the beautiful landscape and abundant trees glorifies God's creation. But the death of Jonas is the main focus in the frame, but that doesn't even waver from God's words as it says in Genesis 3:19, "By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Bible OT, 3). No one is above death, which is also Tomas' biggest problem because he is angry about his wife's death. He has turned away from the word of God and cannot even hear when nature is beginning to call to God.

The final act takes place in a separate church from the first act, but the opening shot is very familiar. It is a shot of Mary holding a baby Jesus. This framing not only shows the presence of God in this church, but also signifies a rebirth. A rebirth that must take place in order to turn back to God and follow him again as it says in John 3:3, "Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (Bible NT, 72). Of course, the ending of the film is very ambiguous and can be read in many different ways, but the rebirth of Tomas is one explanation for going ahead with the service. Simon writes, "Who is this Algot? Peter Cowie sees him as a sinister emissary of death, though Bergman...considers him and angel" (Simon, 191). Bergman's explanation could explain the born again viewpoint because it was Algot's speech about silence and pain that occurs right before the service begins. There are no images of God or Jesus in the frames during these moments because Tomas has left God behind, but in order to be born again he must decide to carry the faith in God around with him wherever he goes.

Throughout Bergman's chamber film Winter Light the characters continue on a path further away from faith and religion. Even though this is the case, the imagery through the cinematography and mise-en-scene relate a strong presence of God in one form or another. This symbolism relates a new aspect to the film that is not present if only the dialogue and feelings of the characters are considered. It also puts a different spin on the ambiguous ending and could show a re-birth in the spiritually dead Tomas. No matter what way you look at the ending, it is obvious that the God imagery is around for most of the film, even though a strong sentence during the movie is that He is silent. The mise-en-scene and cinematography tell a different story than the characters and their actions.