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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, I really loved the very minimalist production design and cinematography.
All in all, though its subject matter and almost six-hour runtime here proved to be a little challenging, the performances and its pretty realistic depiction of marriage alone make this one worth watching. I’d probably go with the theatrical cut first, and if you loved what you got, maybe jump to the TV cut.
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