Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

       View All       Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

      Saraband

      R Released Dec 1, 2003 1h 47m Drama List
      91% Tomatometer 85 Reviews 87% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings Following Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullmann) 30 years after the events of "Scenes from a Marriage," this sequel finds the couple long since divorced and remarried. After Johan separates from his second wife, and Marianne loses her second husband, the ex-lovers try to reconnect. Meanwhile, Johan's son, Henrik (Börje Ahlstedt), is having problems of his own with his daughter, Karin (Julia Dufvenius), a cellist whose career plans don't match her father's expectations. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Aug 29 Buy Now

      Where to Watch

      Saraband

      Fandango at Home Prime Video

      Buy Saraband on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

      Saraband

      What to Know

      Critics Consensus

      If Saraband appears to be a minor entry in Ingmar Bergman's filmography, it's still an accomplished piece of work from one of cinema's greatest masters.

      Read Critics Reviews

      Critics Reviews

      View All (85) Critics Reviews
      Jonathan Romney Sight & Sound Saraband is a commandingly restrained final composition and -- as the theme of classical musicianship suggests -- very much an affair of close attention to the nuances of performance. Jun 18, 2012 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek With Saraband, the great writer-director has stepped back into the ring for one last epic wrestle with his demons. There is, as always, no easy outcome. But no one ever fought for higher emotional and spiritual stakes. Nov 1, 2007 Full Review Time Out A parlour-room theatre of emotional cruelty, with all exits barred by the past. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Dorothy Woodend The Tyee (British Columbia) Certainly Bergman is what he is: the great man, with almost countless films to his credit. Aug 24, 2017 Full Review Film4 Staff Film4 It is existential gruel, ten portions of misery handed down from the master. Compelling and intense, it is also pitiless. Aug 7, 2012 Full Review Robert Davis Paste Magazine Bergman has a sharp talent for observing human conflicts without claiming to fully understand them. Rated: 4/5 Jun 5, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (175) audience reviews
      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 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 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 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 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 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 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

      Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

      More Like This

      View All Best Movies to Stream at Home
      93% 90% Open Hearts 92% 81% After the Rehearsal 85% 88% The Silence 64% 77% From the Life of the Marionettes 49% 64% The Sea Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

      Movie News & Guides

      View All Movie News & Guides

      This movie is featured in the following articles.

      Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman dies at 89 Summer Tomatometer Wrap-up #3: The Best of the Limited Releases

      Photos

      View All Saraband photos

      Saraband

      A scene from the film SARABAND directed by Ingmar Bergman. A scene from the film SARABAND directed by Ingmar Bergman. A scene from the film SARABAND directed by Ingmar Bergman. A scene from the film SARABAND directed by Ingmar Bergman. A scene from the film SARABAND directed by Ingmar Bergman. View more photos

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Following Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullmann) 30 years after the events of "Scenes from a Marriage," this sequel finds the couple long since divorced and remarried. After Johan separates from his second wife, and Marianne loses her second husband, the ex-lovers try to reconnect. Meanwhile, Johan's son, Henrik (Börje Ahlstedt), is having problems of his own with his daughter, Karin (Julia Dufvenius), a cellist whose career plans don't match her father's expectations.
      Director
      Ingmar Bergman
      Producer
      Pia Ehrnvall
      Screenwriter
      Ingmar Bergman
      Distributor
      Sveriges Television (SVT) [se], Sony Pictures Classics
      Production Co
      SVT Fiktion, Danmarks Radio
      Rating
      R (Brief Nudity|Violent Images|Language)
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Swedish
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 1, 2003, Original
      Rerelease Date (Theaters)
      Jul 8, 2005
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Sep 10, 2015
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $645.6K
      Runtime
      1h 47m
      Sound Mix
      Stereo
      Most Popular at Home Now