The Virgin Spring

(1960) dir Ingmar Bergman w/Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson, Axel Düberg, Tor Isedal [89 min; DCP]

THE VIRGIN SPRING is a harrowing tale of faith, revenge, and savagery in medieval Sweden. Starring frequent Bergman collaborator and screen icon Max von Sydow, the film is both beautiful and cruel in its depiction of a world teetering between paganism and Christianity, and of one father’s need to avenge the death of a child. Not only did THE VIRGIN SPRING go on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (accepted by the Brattle’s own Cyrus J. Harvey, Jr.!) but its gut-wrenching plot even inspired Wes Craven’s notorious shocker The Last House on the Left.

A "Double Feature" ticket additionally allows admission into the 5:15 PM screening of THE SEVENTH SEAL. No additional purchase is necessary.