The Virgin Spring (1960)

A while back, I used to write for a few gaming sites; Gaming-Legacy.net and EndoNintendo, just pretend you've heard of them. It was strictly pro bono, just to get my voice out there, to sharpen my skills and write about stuff I enjoyed. I remember writing a review for a GBA game, GT Advance, which I'd bought at launch. It was a very good game, overall, but had one fatal flaw, it had no battery-backup, and therefore, required an extremely long password to be put in anytime you wanted to play. I remember trying to judge the game fairly, but I kept coming back to the password problem, which detracted from almost every aspect of the game.

Now, I feel the same way, somewhat, because the only copy of Bergman's The Virgin Spring I could find was dubbed into English. Normally, I wouldn't bother, but it's Bergman, and I really could NOT find a subtitled copy. It's not Bergman's fault that it was dubbed, but Embassy Video, who released said VHS tape many years ago and surely are long out of business. Yet, despite that, it detracted quite a bit from the experience, unfortunately. It's hard to stay fair, but I think I did pretty well. The dub isn't too terrible, and the film isn't as dialogue-heavy as, say, a Godard film.

In some ways, it's different from most of Bergman's other films, but which one isn't different from the rest, really? But, the Virgin Spring was later remade by Wes Craven as Last House on the Left, which I completely abhored. bergman's film, is different from the rest, though, because it's driven more by events rather than characters. In the beginning, there's a sense that the plot is building up, and you're driven to watch simply to see what will happen next.

Bergman seems to focus a lot more on the Father character than on the daughter, Karin. Plenty of focus is given to Karin in the beginning, of course, but it's only late in the film, when the parents take center stage, that the story really comes into fruition. Likewise, Craven seems to focus a lot more on the rape in itself, and makes the rest of the film seem like merely an afterthought or an obligation.

Early on, Bergman emphasizes Karin's innocence, and her father's love for her. Obviously, this makes her murder all the more effective, and subsequently, her father's revenge. Yet, at the same time, Bergman gives her plenty of less-than-flattering traits, such as her stubbornness to wake up, showing that she's pretty spoiled by her parents, and they let her get away with far more. This gives the Ingeri character a lot more depth, as you wonder why she doesn't help Karin when she sees her getting hurt. When Ingeri explains why she prayed for something to happen to Karin, you see her side as well, and at least understand where she's coming from, if you don't agree. Yet, depending upon the viewer's faith, they may or may not believe that her prayers factored into Karin's death.

The film really comes to a head when the father takes his revenge on the herdsmen. When the first one is killed, he runs towards the window and, concordantly, the camera, when Von Sydow's character murders him. It's a beautiful movement, as you can almost see the life being drained from him, slowly. Then, as he murders the second herdsman, Nykvist shoots them both through the bonfire. You get a sense that both murderers are now burning in Hell, or will soon be. Nykvist's camera is elegant all throughout, often times seemingly invading the characters and their own space, showing them in a very candid, naked way.