1960: Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring)

Bergman picture, black & white, 14th century, the Swedish woods: Three brothers rape a girl, kill her, steal her distinctive dress and go on to ask for a nights rest at - tadaaa - her parents' house. They offer her mother the dress to buy, which turns out to be a bad idea, cause daddy's got a knife. This film might have been more fun if directed by Tobe Hooper. Bergman, one feels, lacks the right sensitivity for the topic. What's more, like a 19th century novelist, he simply tells everything there is to tell as if there's no hurry in the world; the film's got no rhythm. (5.5)