Shouting and whispering, Bergman wants to show through the film the most fundamental anxiety that comes from people's hearts, the pain that stems from loneliness. Agnes and her sisters are isolated, eager to communicate and understand, yet give others a sensitive and fiery rejection. In this claustrophobic space, where the cries take place in the sickbed, Agnes utters that almost primal, instinctive response to great pain, and the indifferent responses of the sisters only make her even more desperate. Whispering took place in the living room, Kalin and Maria, Maria and the doctor, Kalin and her husband, a whisper that was more of a murmur, and the language was so feeble here. Humans have created language as a symbol to facilitate reference and description, but they are trapped in a predicament by language. The gap between the real world and human inner feelings and limited language has opened up a stage for Bergman's creation. As Camus said, true silence is not silence but speech. What are you talking about, I can't hear. Carlin opens his mouth several times in the film but falls into silence. The painful expression on his face is more tense than words. In the silent closing of his lips, I can feel the pain between people's hearts. A cold wall.
People who endure loneliness and anxiety long for warmth. In the eyes of the characters in the film, the expression of love and understanding is not words, but the caress of the body. Agnes longed for this kind of caress, and her most tranquil memory came from the caress of her mother's hands, and also from the maternal comfort given to her by the maid Anna. After several failed attempts to communicate, Kalin and Maria were finally helpless in a fierce conflict and talked to each other to comfort each other. And we see that this kind of warmth is always short-lived. Carlin and Maria ended up with indifferent, mean and ritualistic words, but the warmth that Agnes longed for in the resurrection of the dead was obtained by the blunt rejection and hypocritical attitude of the relatives. Even shocked. Among the four female characters, the maid Anna is a well-balanced character who, despite not being related to the three sisters by blood, gives a selfless and initial love. There is such a scene in the film, Anna is half-naked to comfort the dead Agnes lying in her arms. Her plump body and soft eyes make people feel warm, and at the same time make people feel naturally with Western painters. The image of the Virgin in the pen is connected, and a sublime beauty emerges.
To interpret the works of film masters, I think the current knowledge system is far from enough. The metaphors related to philosophy, the representations of paintings and music in the film are all presented in authentic images. In Shouting and Whispering, the application of these elements is also ubiquitous. Bergman arranges a Bach violin concerto in a whisper. He believes that music can express emotions more than words. In the temptation and consolation, we can't hear their whispers, and the rapid and repeated melody of the violin seems to be announcing a gushing catharsis of the emotions that have been suppressed for a long time. Similarly, the warm shots in the film are presented in the form of classic beauty, especially the portrayal of Anna, whether it is her soft body lines or her soft gaze and the gentle light on her face, It touches the deepest part of everyone's heart.
Bergman grew up in a religious environment, and his work is all about redemption and self-redemption, God and existence. Although he questioned the existence of God for a time, he still believed that people ultimately depended on God to save them. In his work, God is represented in different forms, and in this film, I think the image of God is represented by the clock in the living room. The story unfolds with the ticking of the clock, and the image of the clock is repeated in the film, pointing to both God and time. They also dominate the fate of mankind. When each person is removed from the specific situation, whether it is Agnes who died, or her sister who continues to live in pain, they appear isolated and helpless in the face of time. The priest's prayer at Agnes' coffin is a ray of hope for this isolated situation, that of death, a dialogue with God after redemption - where there are no barriers to communication and expression, as Calvino said. It is said that the language of eternity is the language of the dead. What people see and hear is only the true mirror image of the world, which may be distorted or obscured. People in the world may continue to suffer in pain, or gradually become numb. In Bergman's works, the characters who can really move people are often those illiterate servants. Although Anna in this film does not speak much, she may be the closest to God.
The memory of the past is what can soothe the most painful soul. At the end of the film, in the bright white and green, Agnes recalls the past of her and her sisters. Her peaceful face is filled with a happy smile. It brings a touch of freshness and lightness to the depressing film, as if to show a way to salvation.
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