The Virgin Spring deals with some difficult issues behind faith and the human condition. It puts under its lens guilt and grief, innocence and vengeance, and shifts them to reveal aspects I had never considered before. The plot is simple yet powerful, the dialogue uncluttered yet effective. Bergman let his images do the talking. He visually represents dualities of good and evil and right and wrong (in nature, in men, even in God) by juxtaposing light with darkness. The relatively bare soundtrack and extended use of silence had multiple effects; it made intense scenes more tense and emotional ones more potent. (Although the silence also drove me nuts, as I will expound on in the second paragraph.) I loved the cinematography and the acting, although sometimes found it straying into melodramatic overacting at times.
Several things bugged me. My biggest complaint is in sound design--it is absolutely atrocious. It was so frustrating that it constantly took me out of the story. Half the time you wouldn't be able to hear things that you'd normally be able to hear, like people running around, or a rock being dropped on the ground. I understand his use of silence on an intellectual, thematic level, but it hindered my ability to get involved with the story and characters at an emotional, visceral level, something that detracted heavily from my appreciation of the film. Also, I wasn't too impressed with the bare set design and simple editing. Another gripe is that the first half hour or so went on too long. To me, it seemed like pointless filler. Still, this film is essential Bergman. To anyone unaccustomed to his work, get accustomed to it.IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0053976/