Movie

The Silence

1963 · 95 min

A slow, suffocating plunge into estrangement and illness, where every glance and silence feels charged with unspoken resentment.

Tagline: BERGMAN at his most POWERFUL! SHOCKING! BOLD!
Overview: Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester, her sister Anna and Anna's young son, Johan, check into a near-empty hotel. A basic inability to communicate among the three seems only to worsen during their stay. Anna provokes her sister by enjoying a dalliance with a local man, while the boy, left to himself, has a series of enigmatic encounters that heighten the growing air of isolation.

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: isolation
family
identity
sexuality
death
Places: big city
home
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	2
Humour	1
Realism	7
Romance	3
Tension	7
Darkness	8
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	9

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Persona

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The Passion of Anna

1969

A cold, searching chamber drama that watches people unravel slowly, leaving you unsettled and heavy long after it ends.

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Through a Glass Darkly

1961

A stark, intimate chamber drama that is quietly devastating, slow and unsettling, with moments of raw emotional power.

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Autumn Sonata

1978

A slow, emotionally raw chamber drama of confrontation and regret, with long close-ups and dialogue that cuts to the bone.

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Scenes from a Marriage

1974

An intimate, emotionally raw chamber drama that feels like watching a marriage slowly unravel through painfully honest conversations.

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The Seventh Seal

1957

A solemn, haunting meditation on mortality and faith, unfolding with stark imagery and quiet existential dread.

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Face to Face

1976

A slow, harrowing plunge into a psychiatrist's breakdown, blending dreamlike visions with raw emotional exposure.

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The River

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A slow, suffocating drift through urban alienation and bodily pain, watching a family silently fall apart in long, still, uncomfortable takes.

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Fanny and Alexander

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La Notte

1961

A slow, drifting night of talk and wandering that leaves you hollowed out and quietly restless.

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Red Desert

1964

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream

BFI Player

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, romance
Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Written by: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Ingrid Thulin, Gunnel Lindblom, Birger Malmsten, Håkan Jahnberg, Jörgen Lindström, Kotti Chave, Lissi Alandh, Leif Forstenberg
Music: Ivan Renliden
Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Runtime: 95 min
Country: Sweden
Languages: Spanish, Swedish, English, German, French

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The Silence

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