Ingmar Bergman provides us with a very intimate portrait of two people in a marriage that dissolves into bitterness and hatred; and yet ultimately they both love each other and come to understand each other in a way they might never have done were it not for the divorce. Liv Ullmann, an extraordinarily captivating presence, plays a woman who can be irritatingly passive at times; but I was mainly on her side, even though it becomes clear eventually that her passivity masks her aggressive manipulation. Erland Josephson, with his rodent-like features, is harder to like, especially since his character is vain and petty. He's the one who leaves her for another, younger woman. I spent much of the movie hating and despising him, but by the end, I came to understand him and understand that Ullmann was as much responsible for the dissolution of the marriage as he.
"Scenes from a Marriage" is a very, very rich experience in its original form as a 299-minute miniseries. I've yet to see the 168-minute theatrical version.
"Scenes from a Marriage" is a very, very rich experience in its original form as a 299-minute miniseries. I've yet to see the 168-minute theatrical version.