The Vocation

The Vocation

Sven Nykvist's missionary father in Africa

1974 · 30 min · ★ 9.0 · Documentary

Sven Nykvist, best known as Ingmar Bergman cinematographer, made this film as a tribute to his father who was a missionary in Kongo in the early 20th century. The story of his father Gustav Natanael Nykvist is told through his own photos, letters, and films. Director & cinematographer: Sven Nykvist. Narrators in the English dubbed version: Liv Ullmann & Sean Connery. Produced by Ingmar Bergman (Cinematograph AB). Digitally restored in 2022.

Directed by Sven Nykvist · Written by Sven Nykvist

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Cast

Erland Josephson Narrator (voice)
Harriet Andersson Narrator (voice)
Sean Connery Narrator (voice)
Liv Ullmann Narrator (voice)

Make it a double feature

3h 19m together

The Vocation

Scenes from a Marriage

Both from Sven Nykvist.

More from Sven NykvistSee all →

Fanny and Alexander

Fanny and Alexander · 1984

Fanny and Alexander

Through the eyes of ten-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden.

Face to Face

Face to Face · 1976

A psychiatrist temporarily separated from her family begins to experience severe psychological distress while working at a mental hospital and returning to her childhood home. As her professional responsibilities and personal relationships intersect, she undergoes a breakdown that forces her to confront long-suppressed memories and fears. (Note: This entry refers to the 1976 four-part Swedish television miniseries. A condensed theatrical feature edited from the same material was released separately in 1976.)

Persona

Persona · 1966

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.

Scenes from a Marriage

Scenes from a Marriage · 1973

Scenes from a Marriage

Johan and Marianne's marriage appears stable, but their relationship begins to unravel when Johan reveals an affair. Over several years, we follow their separation, divorce, and continued interactions as they form new relationships while remaining emotionally bound to one another.

Scenes from a Marriage

Scenes from a Marriage · 1974

Scenes from a Marriage

MovieDramaRomance

Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.

Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata · 1978

After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva.

Winter Light

Winter Light · 1963

A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.

Cries and Whispers

Cries and Whispers · 1972

Cries and Whispers

As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so immersed in their own psychic pains that they are unable to offer her the support she needs.

Through a Glass Darkly

Through a Glass Darkly · 1961

Through a Glass Darkly

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

Fanny and Alexander

Fanny and Alexander · 1982

Fanny and Alexander

MovieFantasyDrama

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

The Sacrifice

The Sacrifice · 1986

Alexander, a journalist, philosopher and retired actor, celebrates a birthday with friends and family when it is announced that nuclear war has begun.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape · 1993

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

MovieRomanceDrama

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.

The Tenant

The Tenant · 1976

MovieThrillerMystery

A quiet and inconspicuous man rents an apartment in Paris where he finds himself drawn into a rabbit hole of dangerous paranoia.

Shame

In the midst of a civil war, a pair of former violinists in a tempestuous marriage oversee a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives.

Hour of the Wolf

Hour of the Wolf · 1968

Hour of the Wolf

MovieDramaHorror

While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.

Crimes and Misdemeanors

Crimes and Misdemeanors · 1989

Crimes and Misdemeanors

MovieComedyDrama

A renowned ophthalmologist is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship…which ends up in murder; and a frustrated documentary filmmaker woos an attractive television producer while making a film about her insufferably self-centered boss.

More Like This

Statues Also Die

Statues Also Die · 1953

Statues Also Die

MovieDocumentary

Commissioned by the journal Présence Africaine, this short documentary examines how African art is devalued and alienated through colonial and museum contexts. Beginning with the question of why African works are confined to ethnographic displays while Greek or Egyptian art is celebrated, the film became a landmark of anti-colonial cinema and was banned in France for eight years.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter