Private Confessions

Written by Ingmar Bergman, shot by his long-time cinematographer Sven Nykvist and superbly directed by Liv Ullmann -- Bergman's leading actress and lover during the late 1960s and '70s -- this is very much a Bergman film, despite his absence as director. Set in Sweden in 1925, it's the story of 36-year-old Anna Bergman (Pernilla August), who's trapped in an unsatisfying marriage to passionless cleric Henrik (Samuel Froler). For the past year, Anna has been carrying on with a young theology student named Tomas (Thomas Hanzon), and -- as she tells her uncle and spiritual adviser Jacob (Max von Sydow) -- she's never felt more fulfilled. Jacob nevertheless urges her to...