Brilliantly acted and lugubriously paced, Liv Ullmann's fourth feature as
director — the second written by her mentor, Ingmar Bergman — will
no doubt be manna to those who miss the brilliant acting and lugubrious pace
that characterized Bergman's late-period films. Others, however, may find this
doleful dissection of a marriage undone by adultery tough going. According to
Ullmann, the story is based on an incident from Bergman's own past, and she
uses the figure of an elderly, ailing writer named "Bergman" (Erland
Josephson) to literally conjure an actress named Marianne Vogel (Lena Endre)
from the shadows of his memory. Ove...
Released:
2000
Rated:
R
Length:
142 mins