Few filmmakers have directed as many shattering performances as Bergman, or photographed them more expressively. Or been as preternaturally attuned to the psyches of women. The focal point of his movies is the human countenance in all its infinite masquerades ... The old saw that filmmakers should avoid using too many close-ups does not apply in Bergman's case: we can never get our fill of the faces in his movies because their mysteries always lie just beyond our comprehension.
Peter Rainer