God's Presence or Silence in Winter Light

During Ingmar Bergman's "chamber trilogy" the issue of God's silence is continually brought to the foreground. Both Through a Glass Darkly and The Silence bring up the debate and focus almost solely on the characters beliefs. A different element seems to be forcing itself into the middle film, Winter Light, that contradicts what the characters are saying and feeling. The cinematography and mise-en-scene both imply the presence of God while the people in the film always seem to be searching for Him. Throughout the film images appear to, at least, hint at the ever presence of God in the form of Him or his son Jesus. This is not saying that the characters acknowledge His presence or believe it is there, but there is strong evidence to show these people are not seeing everything around them. As John Simon writes, Winter Light "is in three movements: (1) the morning service...and the events immediately following...in the sacristy or in the church itself; (2) at the site of the fisherman's suicide by the roaring rapids...; (3) at the more modern...church" (Simon, 143). After dissecting events from all three of these acts the images will state an opinion that differs from the characters words and actions.