How Sound is Used in The Virgin Spring, Movie Review Example

The Virgin Spring is a 1960 Swedish film directed by Ingmar Bergman.  In the film, a young girl, Karin, is raped and murdered on her way to church by a group of herdsman.  These herdsmen subsequently steal her clothes and attempt to sell them back to her family; Karin’s father later murders them and seeks out to recover his daughter’s body, swearing he will build a church where it was found.  In the film, Bergman does not use many extraneous sounds and relies on diegetic sound to propel the narrative forward.  One instance of sound being used to portend danger occurs as Karin enters the forest after Ingeri, the pregnant servant accompanying her, chooses to stay behind.

At the beginning of this sequence, as Karin rides into the forest, a crow can be heard cawing loudly.  In this sequence, the crow is used to symbolize danger and death and its caws are a warning, a portend of evil that hides in the forest.  It should also be noted that crows are often associated with the Norse god, Odin, to whom Ingeri has prayed to come to her aid.  The crow’s caws as Karin enters the forest signal an end of innocence as everything else that happens to Karin is tragic and violent.  Furthermore, while the film does not focus on any other animals sounds specifically and instead uses animal sound non-diegetically to add to the creation of the farm’s atmosphere, the crow’s cawing is intentionally singled out.

Bergman’s use of diegetic sound forces the viewer to pay attention to what is said and what is shown on the screen.  Furthermore, when unnatural or uncharacteristic sounds are heard, such as the crow’s caw, the mouth harp, or a brief musical interlude, the audience is forced to expect something significant to happen because within the context of the film, these noises can be considered to be unique.