Written by: Ulla Isaksson
Starring: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson, Axel Düberg
Rating: [4.5/5]
While providing feelings of gratification, to begin with, seeking revenge never quite fulfills the satisfaction sought through acts of bloodlust. A hope for retribution where the end will never bring back the ultimate loss that caused the inciting anger. An unfortunate reality that the characters in The Virgin Spring undertake. However, as straightforward as the plot may appear, it comes as no surprise Ingmar Bergman manages to add much more depth to the story as it wraps these characters up in the guilt of this circumstance.
Devout Christians Töre (Max von Sydow) and Märeta (Birgitta Valberg) ask their daughter Karin (Birgitta Pettersson) to take a journey to deliver candles to a church. While on the way she encounters three males who brutally rape and murder her. This trio, after their horrible action, decides to stay in a home for a night’s rest but they do not realize it’s the home of the parents of the girl they just brutalized.
With a synopsis like this one, under the hands of a lesser director, The Virgin Spring had the makings of something not very enjoyable to watch. While this feature, even under the trusted hands of Ingmar Bergman does not present a great time, the visceral storytelling on display presents something different from what we typically experience from his films. We witness a level of bloodshed and violence that typically does not exist in his film, but as one could expect, the way he dives into the psyche of these characters makes for something wholly engaging.
With the minimal time we spend with Karin before the horrific incident that takes her life, she enters the fray as a virginal young woman who represents an innocence not made for this particular world. It falls under this belief of a world where God would protect those who believe and follow him. Having this belief system explains why her parents would decide to take a voyage this long seemed appropriate. However, it does not take long for us to see the men she runs into and exactly what this world does to someone of pure innocence like Karin. She faces a corruption not only of her body but also her soul leaving those she leaves behind to live with the aftermath.
Watching the reaction of Märeta and Töre when they hear the news of what occurred to their daughter along with the coincidence of these men staying in their home for the night displays just how quickly guilt can shift into this unquenchable hunt of bloodlust. Yes, they must grieve the loss of someone they love dearly but in this moment they can get some sort of carnal release by killing the very men responsible for the pain they feel and the violence enacted on their daughter. Suddenly these devout Christians shift from the strict followings of their church into willingly acting against one of the commandments to achieve the revenge they seek. Starting the story with the innocence of this family then completely gets swallowed up when the corruption of one leads to it spreading to others. It makes the moments where Töre sets out to kill these men so hard-hitting and makes for something that should feel satisfying to have this general discomfort and it lands so well.
As these characters reckon with what happened to Karin, guilt inevitably makes its way to the forefront and this has a large bearing on the film as a whole. Not only the guilt of the parents but also the companion they sent Karin with who could have done more to stop what occurred to the poor girl. It would certainly not be an Ingmar Bergman film without the constriction of religion and guilt, which sits squarely on the face of these characters for the majority of the film. It makes seeking revenge a way to act on this guilt and also somehow makes them feel better about living on when their daughter could not. None of this gets lost, which ultimately makes this film something far beyond some revenge thriller but something deeply meaningful and also meditative with the feelings it elicits from the audience.
With this, we also get plenty of symbolism operating within the film, which includes what gets referenced in the very title of the film. The Virgin Spring presents many striking images that assist in delivering the cogent moments the film wants to express to the audience. The way water gets utilized and what it represents in the context of religion plays a huge part in the way it displays a cleansing, the start of something new, and also a rebirth. This does not even include the moments in the home of Töre and Märeta where we get to witness the actual moments of sought revenge, which occurs in such a viscerally impactful manner.
Truly standing out within a robustly legendary filmography, The Virgin Spring brings such a visceral story to the screen and does so enrapturing you in the guilt this situation brings to those who remain alive. Nothing about it seeks to bring comfort but rather it seeks to bring you deep into the melancholy of these characters and exactly how this guilt manifests into the actions they further justify even if it goes against their very staunch beliefs. Ingmar Bergman delivers yet another powerful story and one that fully engrosses us into this experience within a succinct film.
Films with Josh 
