Sisters Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin) have returned to their family’s rural home to tend to their dying sibling Agnes (Harriet Andersson). Waiting for the inevitable, the sisters’ chilly reserve and lack of connection are thrown into sharp relief by the honest, unconditional love the family housemaid Anna lavishes upon Agnes. Filmed in saturated colours, Cries and Whispers is a profound examination of the human soul, its startling reds and whites as ravishing and chilling as the dramas they animate. Featuring outstanding performances, Bergman’s magnificently unconventional chamber piece has lost none of its power.

Notes by David O’Mahony.

This film screens as part of BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL: THE FILMS OF INGMAR BERGMAN.

See the full collection of films on IFI@Home, launching February 1st.