Saraband
| Saraband | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Written by | Ingmar Bergman |
| Starring | Liv Ullmann Erland Josephson Börje Ahlstedt Julia Dufvenius Gunnel Fred |
Release dates | December 1, 2003 (Sweden) |
Running time | 120 min |
| Language | Swedish |
- For the Baroque dance and its corresponding musical form, see Sarabande.
Saraband (2003) is a Swedish telemovie by film director Ingmar Bergman. It is a sequel to his early film and miniseries, Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett Äktenskap). In July 2005 Saraband was released theatrically in the United States with subtitles in English.
Storyline
In Saraband, Marianne returns to the home of her ex-husband, Johan, who is undergoing a family crisis with his financially irresponsible son, and emotionally draining granddaughter. Though his granddaughter is well past her teens, and undoubtedly in her early twenties, she provides the son with the basis for crafting arguments that he deserves more financial handouts so that she, under his sponsorship and watchful eye, can learn to play the cello - the right kind of cello - an old Stradivarius type of cello from Germany - at some kind of an institute in Europe that specializes in that sort of thing. (This part of the movie looks so specious and false that the viewer can't help but sympathize with the retired grandfather, faced as he is with a prodigal son who goes through every nickel he is given.)
First Scene
The movie opens with the camera on Marianne (played by actress Liv Ullmann) standing by a table loaded up with photographs. It's a well lit room, and she addresses the viewer as though invited to come in. She picks one picture up after another. Some of them bring a smile to her, others less so. Then there's one picture that she comments on, and another she only sighs about. The pictures are anything but organized, as they are just heaped all over the table. But then - on picking up a certain photograph - yes, that's my husband - prompting her to reminisces about how they had been happy more or less, and how they'd broken up, and then after his second marriage with another woman failed, she was already married with a second husband herself, and then when he died (by flying a plane off somewhere and disappearing), how it would be nice to see her first husband again.
Earns Support from Fans
Some of Bergman's fans have hailed the film as one of his best, not from a multiplicity of camera angles, bizarre props and wardrobes, because it has none of that, but perhaps from the storyline being so mundane and commonplace that the instances of dry humor almost pass the viewer by, unnoticed.
In January 2006, the American newspaper USA Today suggested that Börje Ahlstedt should be nominated for an Oscor as Best supporting actor for his role in Saraband, with the comment "He shows you what it's like to be an aging version of a man who was already broken in his 20s."[1]
Cast
- Liv Ullmann (Marianne)
- Erland Josephson (Johan)
- Börje Ahlstedt (Henrik)
- Julia Dufvenius (Karin)
- Gunnel Fred (Martha)