August 10, 2009

...The Virgin Spring (1960)

Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (known in Swedish as Jungfrukällan) is the fastest slow-moving movie I have ever seen. Not as visceral as the über remake The Last House On The Left (1973 version) or its distant cousin I Spit On Your Grave, it still packs a punch and has some exquisite black and white cinematography. Unfortunately the characters and costumes have been parodied so often that they almost look parodic, and it bogs down in religious symbolism (to affirm despite the rape, murder and revenge story) which many might say is its raison d'etre but I found annoying.








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