What's Hot: Add New Fall Shows to Your Watchlist; Bon Jovi Slams Bieber; Game of Thrones; Fall TV Day-By-Day Grid

Faithless

2000, Movie, R, 142 mins

Faithless: Review

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. Over the next few days, Marianne tells him the story of how her marriage to Markus (Thomas Hanzon), a world-renowned orchestra conductor, ended in catastrophe. After 11 years of wedded bliss, Marianne embarks on a reckless affair with Markus' best friend David (Krister Henriksson), a temperamental film director. But what begins as a lark takes a sudden turn for the passionate before the whole thing explodes in Marianne's face: When Markus finds out, he demands custody of their nine-year-old daughter Isabelle (Michelle Gylemo), and a bitter, ultimately tragic battle ensues. The whole sad affair is told through a series of flashbacks with commentary from Marianne. But for all the rumination, a crucial question goes unanswered: What, exactly, does Marianne see in a pathologically jealous loser like David, other than the fact that he's not her husband? Her motives never become clear, not even to herself; Marianne appears to destroy her family more out of perversity than passion. Endre is frighteningly good — she captures every nuance of joy and anguish with an expressiveness that recalls no one so much as Ullmann herself — but Marianne remains remote, a cipher still half-hidden in Bergman's shadows. (In Swedish, with English subtitles.) leave a comment --Ken Fos

Are You Watching?

Faithless

Loading ...

Shop

Buy Faithless: Live at Alexandra Palace from Amazon.com
From Sony/Bmg Int'l (DVD)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy New: $9.99 (as of 05/25/13 10:49 AM EST - more info)

Buy Meet the Faithless and the Faithful [HD] from Amazon.com
(Amazon Instant Video)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy New: $2.99 (as of 05/25/13 10:49 AM EST - more info)

more Faithless products

Our Partners

Will She Stay Or Will She Go? PublishDate = 5/25/2013 10:56:06 AM
Down With The Vampires PublishDate = 5/24/2013 10:53:50 AM
Why 'Revenge' Is Superior To 'Mad Men' PublishDate = 5/24/2013 7:37:20 AM
J. Hud Judging 'Idol' Is Reportedly A Done Deal PublishDate = 5/24/2013 5:51:55 AM
The Softer Side Of Stan PublishDate = 5/23/2013 1:48:21 PM
Fox News Watch Blasts Media: ‘Obama’s Prom Picture Got More Attention Than IRS Scandal’ PublishDate = 5/25/2013 9:03:24 PM
(UPDATED) Fox News Knew of Department of Justice Subpoena in 2009, According To Report PublishDate = 5/25/2013 7:53:10 PM
Baz Luhrmann Passed on Directing 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' PublishDate = 5/24/2013 3:27:21 PM

Faithless

2000, Movie, R, 142 mins

Faithless: Review

Shop

Our Partners

Related Websites

Most Popular TV Shows

Most Popular Celebrities

Most Popular Movies

Top Videos