Best known as Ingmar Bergman's initial foray into cinema, Torment (Hets) was among eleven Grand Prize winners at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. Bergman wrote the screenplay, and his solemn outlook permeates the film. Its multiple angled black and white cinematic look and feel comes closer to the German Expressionist school, however. Directed by Bergman mentor Al Sjöberg, the foreboding coming of age drama revolves around Jan-Erik Widgren (Alf Kjellin), a Swedish boarding school senior, who suffers from his sadistic Latin teacher (Stig Järrel) and from his new emotionally distraught girlfriend.

Set in a strict Swedish boys secondary school, where students are routinely punished for being late to prayer meetings or for forgetting their hymnals, we get an early indication of the Latin teacher's intimidation factor—the students nickname him Caligula (after the insanely ruthless former Emperor) and nervously sweat out their upcoming class during church services. Their fears are well founded. He struts around the classroom seeking unprepared victims to accuse of laziness and issue demerits and demands on more of their time. Although the Latin language is dead, he acts as though it remains the only vital part of the curriculum, and particularly dumps on young Widgren.

Widgren's is ripe for abuse, having a basic romantic nature, he takes Caligula's reprimands (along with his stern father's) far too seriously for his own good. In contrast, Widgren's best friend Sandman (Stig Olin) quotes Neitzsche and protects himself with his far more nihilistic perspective (very much like Bergman). Of course, Widgren is destined for torment from the beginning, and this only escalates after he hooks up with tobacco store clerk Bertha Olsson (Mai Zetterling). Running into the girl one evening in an intoxicated state, he pities her and soon becomes involved with the girl. When Widgren learns that she too is being tormented by a mysterious caller, he becomes involved in a suspenseful "love" triangle inevitably doomed for disaster.

Both Widgren's father and Latin teacher highly disapprove of his newfound romance with such a girl of disreputable character. At least that's what they say outwardly. Other agendas are also in the mix, lurking in the shadows of the frame and thinly obscured by the narrative.

Although the major plot points are signaled well in advance, the plot is tightly constructed and explores themes that Bergman examines throughout his legendary career—societal responsibility vs. individual conscience and conflicts between living a righteous life and seeking happiness through the hedonistic pleasures of this world. Tortured souls come in various forms, but each shares a profound sense of loneliness at their core that plays out successfully. The film successfully avoids the trap of creating stereotypical caricatures of its obviously good and evil main characters by fleshing them out sufficiently—most notably with the cruel Caligula, who turns out to be pitiable and vulnerable beneath all his pomposity.

Torment remains far from being a Hollywood crowd pleaser, but that will be fine with Bergman fans and art house film lovers. It's a near miracle that the film will now be readily available at all!