Cries and Whispers is a 1972 Swedish period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film, set in a mansion at the end of the 19th century, is about three sisters and a servant who struggle with the terminal cancer of one of the sisters (Andersson). The servant (Sylwan) is close to her, while the other two sisters confront their emotional distance from each other.
Swedish theatrical release poster
Ingrid Thulin's dress as Karin. White dresses against a red background were a key colour motif in the film.
Cries and Whispers was filmed at Taxinge-Näsby Castle, outside Mariefred.
Illustration of "Hansel and Gretel" by Ludwig Richter; like Cries and Whispers, the fairy tale suggests familial abandonment.
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoundly personal meditations into the myriad struggles facing the psyche and the soul". Some of his most acclaimed works include The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966) and Fanny and Alexander (1982), which were included in the 2012 edition of Sight & Sound's Greatest Films of All Time. He was also ranked No. 8 on the magazine's 2002 "Greatest Directors of All Time" list.
Bergman in 1966
Bergman as a young man
Bergman in 1957
Bergman and Victor Sjöström on the set of Wild Strawberries (1957)