Ansiktet (aka The Magician) (1958)

When a ragtag magic act travels through a small village, they are stopped by the town's officials and ordered to perform their act in order to determine whether they are charlatans or actually have supernatural powers. Directed by Ingmar Bergman, this atmospheric piece on illusion versus science is probably as close to a horror film as Bergman ever got (though a case could be made for HOUR OF THE WOLF). Bergman isn't, however, interested in scaring his audience but exploring the themes of belief versus cynicism and artistry versus pedagogy. I wouldn't go so far as to call it Bergman lite but  I don't think there are any depths to plunge in order to decipher its story which is all on the surface. It's pretty much what you see is what you get or as one of the film's most memorable characters, Naima Wifstrand in a marvelous performance as an ancient witch, says, "I see what I see and I know what I know". But it is Ingmar Bergman so it's impeccably made. The startling black and white images are courtesy of Gunnar Fischer and the spare score by Erik Nordgren. The superb cast consists of the usual Bergman stock company: Max Von Sydow as intense as ever as the magician of the title, the stunning Ingrid Thulin as his wife, Gunnar Bjornstrand as the man of science determined to expose the magician, Erland Josephson and the lovely Bibi Andersson.