Music in Darkness

Mai Zetterling brings her star power to one of Ingmar Bergman’s earlier works, as a working-class servant who falls in love with her employer; a young pianist struggling to adjust to blindness.

A young pianist undertaking his military service is left blinded after an accident on a shooting range. As he learns to adjust to his new life, a mousy, working-class maid enters his periphery, soon filling the space left in his new, isolated life. A love affair ensues, but over time the power dynamics begin to shift.

By the time Music in Darkness went into production Ingmar Bergman had directed three feature films, but had not enjoyed the great success he would later in his career. Mai Zetterling, on the other hand, was returning to Sweden as a contract player with the Rank Organisation in London and had embarked on an international acting career on stage and screen. Much is made of the overlap in their careers, but in truth, Music in Darkness is the only Bergman film she ever appeared in.

Music in Darkness screened in competition at the 9th Venice International Film Festival.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (TV & Special Events)