Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Written by Ingmar Bergman
1974/Sweden
IMDb page
First viewing/Criterion Channel
Johan: I don’t posses much self-knowledge, and I know very little about reality, in spite of all the books I’ve read. But I believe that this catastrophe is the chance of a lifetime.
An accessible Bergman film that also goes deep into the human psyche. I loved this.
Johan (Erland Josephson) is a psychological researcher. His wife Marianne (Liv Ullmann) is a divorce attorney. The couple have two little girls. As the film begins, a journalist is interviewing the two for an article in a woman’s magazine. They look to have the perfect marriage.
The article is published and is overflowing with praise for the couple. Marianne and Johan host a dinner for their friends Katarina (Bibi Andersson) and Peter (Jan Malmsjo) to celebrate their 10th anniversary. As the evening wears on Katarina and Peter get very drunk and engage in a vicious argument in front of their hosts. After the dinner, we discover there is trouble in paradise also centering on Marianne’s lack of interest in sex.
Shortly after this, Johan arrives at the couple’s summer cottage a day early and announces that he has fallen in love with a 23-year-old and is departing with her for a six-month stay in Paris. Marianne is devastated and begs him to stay. Johan vents all his complaints about their marriage before leaving.
The rest of the movie follows the next 10 years in the relationship of these people through divorce, disillusionment, affairs, and second marriages. They meet and part and meet again, alternating sex for old-times sake with brutally frank arguments.
This film leaves you with a lot to think about and considering another viewing. The acting is needless to say impressive. The script is amazing. There is nothing fancy in the production design or camera work as the story was first made as a 5-hour mini-series for Swedish television. I watched the 3-hour theatrical version and the time flew by.
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I do not think this one is one the list but your review has made me curious. Maybe an option for an off-list entry…
Btw. did you finish Evelina? what did you think of it?
The thing I like about this Bergman movie is that the characters are basically sane, functioning human beings and they have troubles that are relatable. That doesn’t mean they are not brutally frank with each other.
I got distracted from Evelina. I think the main problem is that I would put the audio book on as I lay in bed and kept falling asleep losing my place. I do have an e-book and might go back to it, especially after reading your review. I was an English major but I think my love affair with the English novel starts with Jane Austen. I also adore Dickens and Trollope.
I like it a lot … but I LOVE the sequel that Bergman made for German TV with different actors. It’s called Scenes from the Lives of the Marionettes, and it’s one of seven or eight Bergman films that’s tied for first place as my favorite.
I’ll keep an eye out for that one.