Saraband

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dustin d Saraband is a difficult movie to watch and review. It is not very welcoming. Like Scenes from a Marriage, the characters aren't particularly likeable, and nothing much happens. But like all of Bergman's films, it artfully illustrates something true about the world. In my review of Scenes from a Marriage, I said I found Johan too relatable for comfort. I'd say the same this time, and see how easy it is to become contemptuous of the world and create a crisis for yourself. It is eye-opening, like seeing your worst traits projected on a screen. Of course Johan's son would be weak and useless, like him. That said, I found it strange this was a sort-of sequel in which the characters with the same names, personalities and histories have entirely different children. Johan's son, Henrik, wasn't mentioned in the first film or miniseries. He must have been the product of Johan's relationship with the pop-star before Marianne. And weren't their daughters' names Karin and Eva? Now they are Martha and Sara. The complete change in offspring was jarring until I remembered Johan and Marianne's last name was Griswold. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review dave s Saraband, the great Ingmar Bergman's final film, reunites Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullman), the separated couple we last visited thirty years earlier in Scenes from A Marriage. As with much of Bergman's work, the film deals with life and death, regret and forgiveness, light and darkness, among other things. While undoubtedly filled with sadness, there is a sense of hope contained within Saraband, the hope that we can reconcile and banish our demons if we avail ourselves of the opportunity. The film may appear to lose a bit of focus when increasing attention is paid to Johan's son and granddaughter, but that's a small price to pay for the rewards the film ultimately offers. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review david f Bermanâ(TM)s last film is quite good. Itâ(TM)s a play-like story about characters from one of his earlier projects but can also stand on its own as a fascinating psychological drama. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Ingmar Bergmanâ(TM)s last feature, shot on digital video for Swedish TV, is a return to the couple of Scenes from a Marriage (1973), played again by Liv Ullmann (now 65) and Erland Josephson (now 80), whose characters had earlier divorced (after his affair) but remained attached. Well, thirty years later, after no contact for decades, Marianne (Ullmann) decides to visit Johan (Josephson) at his country retreat (paid for with a fortune inherited from a rich aunt). Marianne introduces this journey by speaking directly to the camera and giving us a rundown of what has happened to both of them in the intervening years â" but it is hard not to look at Ullmann (and then Josephson) and think about aging and the effects it has on the body and soul. (David Lynch worked this same magic with his most recent series of Twin Peaks). Of course, viewers watching the films in the new blu-ray boxset in the order intended will have just watched the 1973 film/series and will be sensitive to any variations in Marianne and Johanâ(TM)s behaviour. If anything, his insensitivity and cruelty has intensified, but it is still hard to get a read on her. She maintains her centered confidence (scored at the end of 1973) but is her attendance to others and advice to them part of a continued avoidance of self-scrutiny? At any rate, much less devotion is paid to Marianne than to Johan in this film (given that Johan is a Bergman surrogate but also here perhaps a surrogate for Bergmanâ(TM)s own father?). In actuality, however, the plot of Saraband (broken into ten duets between players) focuses more on Johanâ(TM)s granddaughter Karin (Julia Dufvenius) and her relationship with her parents, Johanâ(TM)s son Henrik (Börje Ahlstedt) and her deceased mother, Anna. In the two years since Annaâ(TM)s death, Henrik has retreated from his work as a musician scholar to take an (unhealthy) interest in training Karin to become a cellist. The real crime here is that he has also treated her as a wife surrogate (reinforced by a couple of startling moments). His weakness and inability to cope are not tolerated by Johan nor Marianne who both seek to free Karin from his grasp. But ultimately it is her decision to make. On the surface, then, Saraband seemed similar to other Bergman chamber dramas, but with the initial expectation of âreturn/retreadâ?, I was prepared to be underwhelmed. However, he had not lost his punch and the tensions in the relationships here â" and their frankness â" reverberated with me the next day. Bergmanâ(TM)s experience may not be our own but his self-analysis and skill at dramatization combine for some powerful theatre (I mean TV). His final statement echoes his earlier emphasis on the sins of the father and subsequent liberation from them, a story of his life. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Saraband is full of unbelievably real dialogue and complex characters, while being yet another Bergman study of humanity through the themes of love, death, and human interaction. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member master director ingmar bergman's final film is a character study that almost doesn't disappoint except there is no resolution to why she needs 2 see her ex again after 30 years Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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