OVERLAY REPORT

In Ingmar Bergman's film ***The Silence* (1963)**, the most crucial action made by the lead character, **Ester** (played by Ingrid Thulin), is the act of **writing and gifting a note of translated words to her nephew, Johan**, as she lies dying. This gesture is widely considered the film’s redemptive "turning point," representing a breakthrough in the oppressive silence and a symbolic legacy of meaning passed to the next generation. ### The Crucial Action: The Note to Johan As Ester’s terminal illness (a pulmonary condition) worsens, she is abandoned in a foreign hotel in the fictional city of Timoka by her sister, Anna. In her final moments of strength, Ester compiles a list of words from the local "Timoka" language—an incomprehensible language invented by Bergman for the film—to give to Anna's son, Johan. The note is titled **"To Johan – words in a foreign language."** Its significance lies in its thematic weight: in a godless world where communication has failed and the sisters are estranged by resentment and carnality, Ester’s "bequest" of language provides Johan with the tools to find meaning and connection. The final shot of the film shows Johan on a train, raptly reading the note, suggesting that Ester’s intellectual and spiritual essence survives through him. ### Who Helps Her: The Elderly Porter The person who helps Ester make this crucial action is the **elderly hotel porter** (played by Håkan Jahnberg). While Anna grows increasingly hostile and eventually leaves her sister to die alone, the porter provides the only genuine human connection Ester experiences in the city. Specific details of his assistance include: * **Providing Materials:** As Ester’s health fails, she uses gestures to ask the porter for her **writing tablet** and a pen so she can begin the note. * **Translating the Words:** The porter assists Ester with the content of the note. In a poignant scene, Ester points to her own hand and gestures for the local word. The porter responds by speaking the word and, in some interpretations, helping her write it down or confirming the translation. * **Physical and Emotional Support:** The porter remains by Ester's side while she suffers from painful respiratory spasms. He provides her with juice, brandy, and a comforting presence (even placing his hand on her head) which grants her the stability needed to complete the task before the others depart. ### Specific Details of the Note The words Ester translates—and which the porter helps her identify—include: * ***Hadjek***: Meaning "spirit" or "soul." * ***Kasi***: Meaning "hand." * ***Naigo***: Meaning "face." Critics often note that these specific words (hand, face, soul) represent the basic elements of human connection that the film's "silence" had previously stripped away. The porter, despite not sharing a common language with Ester, "hears" her through empathy, enabling her to leave a final "word" in a silent universe.