The calculated and methodical style of Bergman that pull many back to dig into his type of sentimentalism is the very reason I find him entirely captivating. Many would call Bergman's tone monotone, I would rather say is manned. From acting to camera-work his directing style is entirely computed, indeed it breaks what we would know as fake realism to embrace a completely computed style, nothing feels entirely grounded but rather artificial but that's what Bergman points at.
His films carry realistic thematics under surrealistic circumstances and scenarios being the Seventh Seal quite likely the most notorious example. No other filmmaker that comes to my mind now would use the color palette like Bergman does, is a blood-like red; generally such a jazzy color would be use in determined scenarios where you could expect a horrifying event to take place. However this is no horror movie, not even close to a thriller (Bergman rarely gets close to those elements), is entirely a drama that evoked some brushes of the flamboyant style of directors like Demy with his extravagant color designs and the somewhat pessimistic yet hopeful and lyrical existentialism of Tarkovsky.
Another aspect that caught my attention is the reduced use of long takes Bergman implements as opposed to how other art house directors would use this technique more frequently. Style-wise this is something that differentiates Bergman, his films feel like paintings recorded within film. While this gives an enveloping atmosphere to his works, from a constant melancholy to a sporadic warmth; he is more symbolic than he is emotionally resonant and he is far from grounded. This doesn't make his work bad by any means but rather distinct by his approach, generating an exceedingly intricate contemplative puzzle feeling more like dream-like sequences instead of literal ones.
Perpetual clocks invade the frame of Cries and Whispers as a reminder of the constant and inevitable pass of time and the inherent mortality within us. Red is persistent in almost every frame not as a reminder of peril but as a token of blood and guilt contrasted with the white and other times black dresses of the sisters. When Agnes died and the Pastor gave a sermon over her death, he is framed within a white window which is curiously shaped over a cross, figuratively stating what he proclames: redemption through Jesus' sacrifice.
One of the sisters cuts her genitalia not only to ward off her husband but trauma is something that is always implicit throughout which ties with guilt; of course this indicates a repulsive sentiment with sex and/or her own body. However is also curious that Karin stained her mouth with the blood of her genitalia, as if her mouth is related to the contempt and disgust she feels towards her. On one hand since this unknown trauma is never mentioned it could linger with secrecy (thus we can imply why she stains her mouth), as if part of her turmoil is remaining in silence, it might seem like a stretch but notice the film is set in the 19th century when sex was a complete taboo thus things such a sexual assault created an stigma against women.
The imagery is the burden of guilt most possibly by trauma. In any way I see it as a demonstration of the oppression of women, this is displayed by Agnes; she is perpetually confined in her bed, being completely submissive, this could be seen as a reflection of gender roles and expectations for women about sex, childbirth, marriage, death, etc.
Another way if seeing it is over the statement of Patricia Erens:
"Bergman's women in such films as Persona and Cries and Whispers are not simply objects of abuse, but creatures through whom Bergman can express his own subjective fears, his many frustrations and failures at preserving autonomy of self and control of reality".
Women depicting not only the inherent inequality among sexes but Bergman's fear of submission to something like death, while this film relies a lot on dialogue all of this is tacit by its composition. Depending on your point of view this could make the statements of Bergman either redundant or fleshed out, I stand in between: sometimes a narration is displayed within a visual narration being too redundant for my taste but others the meaning is completely tacit due to visual motifs.