Like Bergman, the central character of A Passion, Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow), has settled on the island to escape. Tortured by the destruction of his marriage he seeks solace in solitude, until by chance he meets Anna, a crippled widow who oozes resilience in the aftermath of her husband's death. Andreas becomes socially and sexually drawn to this passionate stranger but slowly learns that she was horribly injured, both physically and mentally, by the loss of her spouse.

The similarities between Anna and Andreas (the homophonic ring is surely intentional) do not ensure the two lovers become soul mates. Tragically, they become mirrors, and in the face and thoughts and deeds of the other they see the extent of their own damage. The terrifying notion begins to emerge that isolation is no longer a chosen respite but an unshakeable affliction, and their ensuing feeling of vulnerability becomes emphasised by a grisly subplot in which an unknown killer stalks the island, murdering and mutilating the villagers' animals.

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This represents the director's first dramatic film shot in colour, and he seems in love with the possibilities offered by shades of the wilderness reflecting his characters' feelings and fates, and the melancholy beauty captured by his renowned, long-serving cinematographer, Sven Nykvist.

The writer/director stated he penned the screenplay "off the cuff", adding, "It was more a catalogue of moods than a film script". But the gradual tightening of tension lends the piece a narrative strength, with the rhythm of the central relationships punctuated by four dispersed segments in which Bergman borrows from Brechtian ideals, allowing the actors to address the audience about their characters.

The film concludes with what many rank as one of the most remarkable shots in cinematic history: a fitting finale to an extraordinary work.

Gavin Collinson