Ingmar Bergman’s 1972 motion picture *Viskningar och rop* (Cries and Whispers) stands among his most significant works from that period. The story unfolds in a Swedish country home, where the terminally ill Agnes (Harriet Andersson) is joined by her two sisters: Karin (Liv Ullmann), who is passionate and spontaneous, and Maria (Ingrid Thulin), characterized as reserved and distant. While they claim to be there to support Agnes during her final days, their presence largely involves waiting for her death, distracted by their troubled marriages, a vague conflict between them, and the details of inheritance. It's Anna (Kari Sylwan), Agnes’ loyal maid, who offers any genuine kindness or compassion. A deeply moving element is the contrast between the selfless affection shown by someone from a marginalized background and the lack of concern—or even aversion—displayed by Agnes’ own family members. Bergman had experimented with color film in *En Pasion* three years prior, but *Viskningar och rop* truly utilizes its potential. The color red is consistently visible throughout, whether it's the red wing of the house where Agnes is dying, the transitions between scenes, or the blood seen in flashbacks depicting the deterioration of the sisters’ marriages. Sven Nykvist’s cinematography remains exceptional. And while makeup artists are not typically highlighted when discussing a Bergman film, credit should be given to whoever worked on this one for making an actress as striking as Harriet Andersson (who was still in her late thirties and quite attractive at the time) appear believably aged. Bergman himself considered *Viskningar och rop* alongside 1966’s *Persona* to be among his two greatest films. I don't share that assessment, though; while I am consistently impressed by *Viskningar och rop*, it tends to reveal its symbolic meaning and the relationships between characters very quickly, which makes me less inclined to revisit it. It also seems to me that Bergman incorporated too many familiar elements into this film, like siblings with an incestuous connection, and a man expressing the importance of having faith in God when he himself has lost his own.

Source on TMDB