Letters to Father Jacob

Ingmar Bergman was so good at capturing pathos, making it seem effortless to point a camera at quite human struggling that anyone should be able to see beneath superficial surfaces and see the pain below. But it isn't as simple as having great actors play real people in front of the lens. A good script helps but when silence and pacing are important, good direction and innovative moments are needed. Letters to Father Jocob instead plays it safe and misses the target.

Letters follows two dependents as they search to find redemption and meaning in their lives. A women is released from prison, nowhere to go except to a blind priest's country home. The priest, Father Jacob, doesn't have a parish anymore. Instead, he spends his hours answering letters from people requesting his prayers. Sadly the dialogue, plot, and pacing follows formulas and cliches including water leaking in the home, flooding us with soulful symbolism oft used (A Pure Formality comes to mind). Both actors deliver quality performances, showing restraint and subtlety so lacking in mainstream film. But the director shoots everything with traditional shots, standard motion and pauses, treading old grown with old technique as slow as snail mail. I can only recommend this for Swedes and Sylvia Plath fans.