A Brilliant Conflict

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

I found this film impossible to watch (or rather listen to) when it first came out on British television because of the perfectly woeful dubbed transatlantic accents. Thankfully I have now been able to watch the whole series in Swedish with subtitles and it is very fine.But the same commercial logic that determined the makers to dub the series so disgustingly in the hope of "capturing" the US market (I believe this was all about the time when Bergman was sounding off publicly about how much income tax he had to pay), led them to engage in some of the worst examples of product placement I have ever seen in any film.At one point a bottle of some hooch or other is shown with its label prominently displayed (and then conspicuously hidden - which is the real giveaway) but the terrible thing is that the characters are actually made to engage a little consumer-discussion of the contents of the bottle.Even worse is the advertising of Marlboro cigarettes which is prominent throughout the series. And again the advertising is allowed to intrude more than once into the scenario itself. I was aghast at one point where a character is shown expressing relief at smoking once again after having given up! Even as a smoker I was shocked at the cynicism. This I think must be the most degraded and degrading piece of product-placement ever shown in a film. Still when poor Mr Bergman had to pay so much tax.....what were a few additional cancer victims here or there.

I am relatively new to Bergman, though I have seen his movie about his parents (Best intentions, 1992) and loved it. So I had already had high hopes with 'Scenes from a Marriage', and I have to admit it even went beyond all my expectations.There is a bitter-sweet beauty in all biographical stories that span through decades of the life of a man and a woman. A good example is 'One Day' (2011), an equally good example from my country is 'Love Film' (1970) by István Szabó. We see the same here, share two decades of the couple's life with them. By the end, I got to love them both, and got to love all genuine attempts of us, ordinary people, for a relationship.10/10

This is an actor's masterpiece. The two leads are about as adept as any I've ever seen. This is also about what love is, that unexplainable, elusive, unpredictable thing that sometimes can't be fathomed. The two characters go about their business of caring for each other despite the incredible mistakes and baggage each has. There is physical abuse and verbal abuse and serious of catastrophic events and bad acts. Sort of like life, right. We soon realize that it doesn't matter if these characters aren't like us. They are displayed as amazingly well developed people who have our interest every minute of the film. Some may say it is incredibly talky, but that's the central issue: the talk is what they are about and the nuances of their conversations and interactions is important to the viewer. The pacing is excellent. We get to see them in their most primal and most painful. They never stop loving each other or, in one sense, hating each other. This movie will be with me for a long time and it will haunt (in the best sense of the word) the relationships I find myself in. This is a true masterpiece.

Scenes From A Marriage is one of the best films to address the issue of a marriage slowly falling apart. The film is directed by Ingmar Bergman and stars Liv Ullman and Erland Josepson.Lawyer Marianne(Liv Ullman)is married to the kind Professor Johan(Erland Josephson)and they at first appear to be a prime example of how to have a successful and happy marriage.They agree with each other,never argue and share many similar interests.However Marianne secretly harbours some little doubts about exactly how happy and solid their marriage actually is.When two of their closest friends(who are nearing divorce)come over for a dinner party,a drunken fight leads Marianne to take a closer look at her marriage to Johan.She advises women who wish to get divorced and after one client describes a situation, and emotional strains which Marianne herself is starting to suffer from,she feels the end is near.However she is stunned when Johan turns around and says he wants a divorce,after he has been having an affair with a younger woman.The rest of the film centres on Mariannes attempts to win Johan back,their divorce proceedings and finally looking at when they become friends and occasional lovers after their marriage ends.I've only seen the version which is just under three hours,but I understand there is a five hour version available.I will try and find that as I'm interested to see what else could be added to this stunning film.Scenes From A Marriage is emotionally draining,gripping,believable and features two of the most unforgettable performances on film.Liv excels in the scenes where her face conveys so much more than words possibly could, she is matched well by Erland as the man torn inside out by his huge mistake,who's trying to make things right again for them both.If you haven't seen this yet try and find it as you won't be disappointed.