Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.
To say that this is a character study would be doing a huge injustice to one of the greatest pieces of relationship drama ever put to film. Ingmar Bergman produced a film here that will undoubtedly stand the test of time, and for as long as married relationships exist this will continue to retain its relevance.
Scenes from a Marriage portrays a true and perfectly pitched insight to the love, the damage, the intense care and uncontrollable urges to erupt that can develop as two humans grow older together. I'm trying hard not to blaspheme here or get overly emotional with the writing, but man this is just spectacularly good, especially from the ladies on the cast.
My favourite female…
A cautionary tale or an inevitability? Are loneliness and dissatisfaction inherent or are they avoidable? Is it always “too late” for us all? No matter the answer, Bergman is fucked up for making me think of all of this.
The whole series is drenched in misery, even the moments of lightness are caked in an ever-fleeting feeling. The final episode tricks you into thinking maybe there was a happy ending, or at least bittersweet, but then you remember everything that led there. This quiet moment, this warm embrace, this little lie, will reach an end. On the other side are ourselves, our true selves, the people we were forced to be despite all our desires. Maybe we tell ourselves that…
“how can you discuss what you can’t find words for?”
an operatic yet intimate encapsulation of marriage, showing a couple’s suppressed misery, adultery, divorce and then their ensuing partners. we watch on as this couple’s façade begins to crack and the concealed exhaustion rises to the surface. power dynamics begin to shift and self-absorption rages on as this couple searches for the truth. these moments are captured with such intense intimacy by Sven Nykvist’s camera that is in perfect harmony with the performances of Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. Nykvist captures each faint expression and masked emotion with utter precision. i’d say to stay far, far away from the theatrical version. the television one allows you to spend much more time with Marianne and Johan, immersing you in the incessant suspicion and self-indulgence that subsumes this relationship. this one is also a pretty bad date movie, obviously.
Action! - of God and Man: Bergman and the Hopelessness Kind
Raising a half-star on this rewatch is mainly because of Ullmann’s towering performance. She can just sit there and do nothing, and I’ll still got goosebumps. There are some really great writings, often feeling almost like Bergman (who got married and divorced like 50 times) was using this as some form of therapy, letting some things out of his chest. The fact the husband here was ultimately the a—hole—I suppose that’s a way of him acknowledging he was a terrible husband, perhaps? That whole fifth episode, especially, was brilliant. No doubt that was what I remembered the most from my first watch—a real war of words. Other than that,…
[episode 1+2]
will never get over the fact that this series was the cause of many divorces throught the mid seventies. the power of this is insane!!
This is the television version of the movie, which consists of 6 episodes with a total runtime of 5 hours. It is the first of Bergman’s masterpieces in the criterion boxset and i decided to watch it all in one sitting. I should probably have watched the theatrical cut first, but I have decided to watch the boxset in the order of the discs.
The movie had a good pacing for a 5 hour movie about a couple arguing, but at the same time it was a long movie, that didn’t need to be that long, but I guess that is why there also is a theatrical cut, which I will probably watch sometime next week, because the length is…
[episode 5+6]
"we're emotionally illiterate"
shotout to ingmar bergman for changing my life with every thing i've watched from him
Ingmar Bergman’s seminal 1973 television miniseries Scenes of a Marriage did not only inspired a lot of divorces back in the day, but it also opened a new wave of radical ideas on how people perceive marriage, relationships, and roles that men and women partake in a relationship. Backed by outstanding performances from Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson, this six-hour long miniseries takes us deep into the core of this marriage between these two people. This freedom of format allowed Bergman to fully excavate the psychologies between a man and a woman: their desires, their passions, their dreams, and most of all their wicked selves—in short, the full humanity of these individuals.
Scenes of a Marriage is all about the…
look, i know ingmar bergan is trying to explain the complexity and imperfection of human relationships but all i'm hearing is that marriage is literal hell
actually think about writing this...how
[episode 3+4]
holy shit
☆"How can you discuss what you can't find words for?"☆
My Journey into the Films of Ingmar Bergman -- Part 39 of 62
I don't watch a lot of television. Movies? Apparently so, as I approach 5000 seen. But there are two television series in this Criterion set, and it appears like I must watch them both. First up is what many call one of the greatest things to ever air on TV, Bergman's landmark series Scener ur ett äktenskap ["Scenes From a Marriage"], five hours among six episodes, featuring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson.
We begin as lawyer Marianne (Ullmann) and professor Johan (Josephson) are being interviewed for a women's magazine, just having "renewed their marriage contract" after ten…
