Product: Saraband (2005)
Rating: 3.0
A Heartfelt Expression of Bergman's Grief, but Less Successful as a Narrative Film.
"Saraband" is a deeply personal film by veteran director Ingmar Bergman, inspired by the loss of his wife Ingrid. Marianne (Liv Ullmann) is suddenly moved to visit her first ex-husband Johan (Erland Jossefsen), a retired academic whom she has not seen in at least 30 years. She finds Johan at his summer house in the country, where his estranged son Henrik (Börje Ahlstedt) and 19-year-old granddaughter Karin (Julia Dufvenius) are staying in the nearby lake cottage. Henrik is distraught over the death of his beloved wife Anna 2 years before and has transferred his possessive affection to Karin, a talented young cellist, whom he tutors in music and fears will strike out on her own. There is no limit to the venom between Henrik and Johan, a needy man who as a boy sought his father's love and the father whose distaste for the boy eventually turned to hatred. Marianne becomes a sympathetic ear for Karin and is immersed in this family drama."Saraband" is a series of conversations between these 4 people, isolated from the outside world by miles of countryside and by the strong emotions that bind them at the same time they corrode their relationships. Many of the conversations are essentially monologues, sometimes even spoken to the camera. The performances are expressed intensely, and I was particularly impressed with Börje Ahlstedt's pathetic, cruel, mercurial characterization. But "Saraband" works better as a tortuous expression of Ingmar Bergman's grief than it does as a story, and the film is better understood on that level. Karin is too neurotic and melodramatic for a 19-year-old, until we remember that she embodies the psyche of the very old, very neurotic director. Johan's bizarre attachment to his deceased daughter-in-law, whom he barely knew, doesn't make sense unless we consider that Johan is Bergman, just as Henrik is Bergman. The quasi-incestuous relationship between Henrik and Karin seems out of place in the story, but it works as metaphor. The memory of Anna pervades the film to an extent that is creepy. But Anna is there because Ingrid is always in Ingmar Bergman's thoughts.One thing I found interesting in "Saraband" was the conflicting views of the characters: Marianne always thought Johan was "nice", while Henrik finds him nasty and beneath contempt. Most of the world thinks Henrik obnoxious, domineering, and slightly crazy, but his wife thought him full of love. There is a valid point there. And the fact that the characters can no more change how they feel about one another than they could bring back the dead is accepted as fact, which I suppose is kind of refreshing. But what we have is a bunch of people who don't get along. And so what? They don't need to. Bergman manages to give every emotion a great deal of weight. Too much weight. "Saraband" is an interesting bit of metaphor and may shed light on the nature of Berman's personal grief. But these characters just aren't credible in the real world. It doesn't work as a narrative. And I think it needs to, thus my 3-star rating.Note: Bergman should have been more careful with his numbers. Marianne is 63 and hasn't seen Johan in 30-32 years. They were married for 16 years, then saw each other again after Marianne divorced her 2nd husband. I'm sure that Bergman wanted to indicate that Marianne was a young woman when she married, but he probably didn't mean to say she was in junior high school. It's a careless error that Bergman would probably brush off as inconsequential, but numerically-minded members of the audience will pick up on it right away.The DVD (Sony Pictures 2006): The single bonus feature is a 44-minute film about "The Making of Saraband". It is primarily behind-the-scenes footage of Ingmar Bergman directing the actors, filming, and dealing with technical issues. It also includes some interview footage with Bergman, the cast, and the film's art director, costume designer, and prop master. Subtitles are available for the feature film in English, French (Canadian), and Portuguese (Brazilian).