"Nattvardsgästerna" or "Winter Light" is a Swedish black-and-white movie from 1961, so this one here is almost 60 years old and if you take a look at the number of votes here, you will probably see more than expected. This of course has to do with the fact that the writer and director is Ingmar Bergman, unanimously considered Sweden's finest ever and also in general among the best filmmakers out there. He was in his mid-40s when he made this one and it is not among his early or late career efforts. But at only 80 minutes, it is definitely among his shortest films out there. As for the cast, you will find the names of actors here like Thulin and von Sydow that he cast in other films as well. The latter is one of two actors I believe still alive in 2019 now that I am writing this review, but of course at a very high age already, no surprise looking at how old this film is. Lead actor who plays the character of Tomas is Gunnar Björnstrand and he is long gone sadly. But in this film, he is in basically every scene as he plays a priest who seems to have lost his faith in the Lord and we watch his struggles with himself as well as with the supporting characters. When seemingly he has come to the conclusion that it is all over and there is no future for him as a man of the church, mayhem ensues before he can tell anybody and he is needed badly. One man kills himself and leaves his pregnant wife and mother of several kids alone. Another servant of God, crippled he is (the servant, not God) in charge of a little chapel needs him as well and then there is also the boy who does not want to have anything to do with church anymore after his brother tells him the classes just aren't fun. So you could say, it feels a bit unrealistic that he starts working immediately again after telling the female protagonist of this film that it's all over, but you can also see it from the perspective that he does not need his faith to be there for the people and support them. They think it is what defines him, but he may have other motives that they know nothing about. It probably also has a lot to do with what he has been doing for decades and it's just not easy, maybe not even possible to step out from one day to the next.
Now I want to say a few words on Thulin's character as well. Honestly, I must say I found her almost more interesting and fascinating than the actual main character. First of all, you need to see her and everything I am saying about her from the perspective that she plays a really attractive woman who could have pretty much any man she wanted in any place and the scene when that other guy tells her at the end to get out as fast as she can as long as it is still possible is really telling. But obviously, she is way too deep inside already. The letter she wrote makes obvious that she very much needs a lesson in self-love as she basically admits that she only feels complete when she is loved (by Tomas). And even after the in my opinion best scene of the film when he says all these horrible things to her and she takes of her glasses and sees him (physically) for what he really is, she puts the glasses back on and leaves with him once again in a situation in which, if she was a self-confident and not needy woman, she would never want to see him again. I must say it took me a little while to really get curious about the film and also the two main characters, but when I did, I was glued to the screen. Sadly it took way too long, but maybe that was just me and not the movie itself. The parallel between the ending and the beginning is also pretty interesting in the sense that it is basically a loop if you want to say so and despite everything that happened the situation is exactly the same, even with all the process inside characters that took place. The only real difference is probably that von Sydow's character wasn't alive anymore and we don't know if Thulin's is still there. But I believe that she is because honestly if the humiliation cannot change her, then the words of her suitor won't change her either. Overall, I believe this is a movie that the Church probably did not like very much because of the frequently very critical tone about religion and (losing) faith. Maybe this is one reason why Sweden did not pick it as the country's official Oscar submission for the foreign language category that year because they thought that the then even more conservative America won't give it a chance. But it is a good film, maybe not Bergman's best because of the sub-par first half, and I also believe the rating here is definitely a bit too high, but with how things got better the longer it went, I definitely do think it is worth seeing and therefore I give it a thumbs-up and a positive recommendation. Go watch it if you are ready for the very bleak material and also the subject is to your liking. It's typical Bergman. Comedy is basically non-existent and in the one or two moments when there is a tiny little ounce of humor, it is always closely linked to tragedy. It is a film and director/writer that is not for everybody, but if you can warm up to his craft and approach, then you are in for something convincing. Give it a chance or decide for yourself because I think you will not really need my recommendation as it is most likely rather unlikely this is the first work you would be going for from Bergman's pretty admirable (in both quantity and quality) body of work.
Now I want to say a few words on Thulin's character as well. Honestly, I must say I found her almost more interesting and fascinating than the actual main character. First of all, you need to see her and everything I am saying about her from the perspective that she plays a really attractive woman who could have pretty much any man she wanted in any place and the scene when that other guy tells her at the end to get out as fast as she can as long as it is still possible is really telling. But obviously, she is way too deep inside already. The letter she wrote makes obvious that she very much needs a lesson in self-love as she basically admits that she only feels complete when she is loved (by Tomas). And even after the in my opinion best scene of the film when he says all these horrible things to her and she takes of her glasses and sees him (physically) for what he really is, she puts the glasses back on and leaves with him once again in a situation in which, if she was a self-confident and not needy woman, she would never want to see him again. I must say it took me a little while to really get curious about the film and also the two main characters, but when I did, I was glued to the screen. Sadly it took way too long, but maybe that was just me and not the movie itself. The parallel between the ending and the beginning is also pretty interesting in the sense that it is basically a loop if you want to say so and despite everything that happened the situation is exactly the same, even with all the process inside characters that took place. The only real difference is probably that von Sydow's character wasn't alive anymore and we don't know if Thulin's is still there. But I believe that she is because honestly if the humiliation cannot change her, then the words of her suitor won't change her either. Overall, I believe this is a movie that the Church probably did not like very much because of the frequently very critical tone about religion and (losing) faith. Maybe this is one reason why Sweden did not pick it as the country's official Oscar submission for the foreign language category that year because they thought that the then even more conservative America won't give it a chance. But it is a good film, maybe not Bergman's best because of the sub-par first half, and I also believe the rating here is definitely a bit too high, but with how things got better the longer it went, I definitely do think it is worth seeing and therefore I give it a thumbs-up and a positive recommendation. Go watch it if you are ready for the very bleak material and also the subject is to your liking. It's typical Bergman. Comedy is basically non-existent and in the one or two moments when there is a tiny little ounce of humor, it is always closely linked to tragedy. It is a film and director/writer that is not for everybody, but if you can warm up to his craft and approach, then you are in for something convincing. Give it a chance or decide for yourself because I think you will not really need my recommendation as it is most likely rather unlikely this is the first work you would be going for from Bergman's pretty admirable (in both quantity and quality) body of work.