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The soundscape of Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night
would use the same musical techniques in the flagellant scene of his next film, The Seventh Seal (1957), also underlining oscillations between faith and doubt—but in that case through the lens of religion. 45 Though Bergson’s theories help understand how music functions in Smiles of a Summer Night , the fact remains that the film treads a fine line between tragedy and comedy. As aptly put by Frank Gado, ‘Bergman’s best comedy reads the human condition as dismally as his most pessimistic films.’ 46