Back to browse
75% Critic Match
The Silence
“BERGMAN at his most POWERFUL! SHOCKING! BOLD!”
7.5 / 10• 1963• 1h 35m•NR• Swedish
DramaRomance
Storyline
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.
Cast & Crew
Ingrid Thulin
Ester
Lead
Gunnel Lindblom
Anna
Birger Malmsten
Bartender
HJ
Håkan Jahnberg
Hotel Steward
Jörgen Lindström
Johan
Kotti Chave
Officer in the Train Compartment
Lissi Alandh
Woman in Variety Hall (uncredited)
LF
Leif Forstenberg
Man in Variety Hall (uncredited)
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Ingmar Bergman's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
4.0
“Every frame feels alive. The Silence is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
