Gunnar Fischer's photography becomes ever more luminous and Sjstrm's performance grows in greatness.

It's a personal and profound work.

With unyielding moral precision no less austere for the lack of any religious conviction behind it, Bergman subjects his protagonist to judgment for the crimes of indifference and selfishness, and pronounces a verdict of "the usual" sentence: loneliness.

It’s an often painful drama and [Victor] Sjöström gives a vulnerable, moving performance as the crotchety, morally imperious old man... but it’s also one of Bergman’s warmest, most understanding, and most beautiful films.