Known for their repeating motifs and signature tropes, the films of Ingmar Bergman also contain extensive variation and development. In these reflections on Bergman´s artistry and thought, Irving Singer discerns distinctive themes in Bergman´s filmmaking, from first intimations in the early work to consummate resolutions in the later movies. Singer demonstrates that while Bergman´s output was not philosophy on celluloid, it attains an expressive and purely aesthetic truthfulness that can be considered philosophical in a broader sense. Through analysis of both narrative and filmic effects, Singer probes Bergman´s mythmaking and his reliance upon the magic inherent in his cinematic techniques. Singer traces throughout the evolution of Bergman´s ideas about life and death, and about the possibility of happiness and interpersonal love.