Scenes from a Marriage

Johan and Marianne have been happily married for ten years. Following the rough choice to abort their child, the marriage begins to fall apart. Theirs is a marriage of convenience anyway, so it is no surprise that they have looked elsewhere for love and comfort. One day, Johan runs away with another woman, and the process of divorce begins. "Scenes from a Marriage" (Scener ur ett aktenskap) is an intense and personal look at the sanctity of marriage in a world where divorce is in vogue.

"Scenes" begins with Johan and Marianne being interviewed for a magazine article about their perfect marriage. Johan is confident in his happiness. He loves his wife, has fathered two children, and has a well-paying job. Marianne is sure of nothing, other than that she's happy. She tries to talk about her future, but the photographer cuts her off for a picture. She never gets to finish her thought. One wonders what she would have said if she'd gotten to same amount of time to speak as Johan did.

During the course of an epic five-hour ride, the two will switch places. Johan will become uncertain of what he wants, and Marianne will become liberated and truly happy. It's what happens in between that fascinates. "Scenes from a Marriage" focuses on the in between moments in life. Most of the time there are only two characters on screen at a time. Filmed in an intimate, documentary-like style, the film gives us the feeling that we're watching a home movie about the down time in the couple's life. This is when they real emotions come to the surface. Johan reveals his passion for Paula, the woman who has seduced him away from Marianne. Marianne, reserved in public, let's her anger, pain, and jealousy flow freely when they are alone together.

It is this that makes the film work. The film was written and directed by Swedish master Ingmar Bergman, a man who knows how to create arrestingly real drama. Bergman knows that the little moments in life are utterly more fascinating then the overblown public moments that most movies show. By allowing us into these personal moments, Bergman allows Johan and Marianne to become like old friends to the viewer, and that makes the story all the more impactful.

The performances by Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson as Marianne and Johan are nothing short of revelatory. Let's face it, most actors don't shoot for the stars in television productions. Ullman and Josephson treat "Scenes" like any one of their theatrical films. This approach is much appreciated. I only wish they could teach American TV actors a thing or two. Ullman and Josephson deliver more meaningful and powerful performances in the course of five hours than half of the American network line-ups could provide in 5 seasons.

Take, for example, the scene where Marianne discovers that she is the last person to know about Johan's infidelity. The camera gets in close on Ullman's face to reveal all the little details of her expression. Ullman's face is a mask of horror and shame. Her eyes are crying out in despair much louder than her voice can.

There is another fantastic scene in which Marianne who, in the ultimate irony, is a divorce lawyer listens to a client discuss her loveless marriage. The comparison to Marianne and Johan's marriage is undeniable. The look on Marianne's face as she sees her future self in her client is hard to describe, but undeniably affecting.

Johan has less emotional depth, as one of the main plot points is that Paula saps the life out of him as the relationship progresses. However, look at the earliest scenes of the film, where he is overflowing with happiness. The joy in his eyes and his voice are so real it's hard to believe that the whole thing was carefully scripted by Bergman rather than improvised by Josephson.

It is said that, following the initial airing of "Scenes from a Marriage" on Scandinavian TV, the divorce rate in Scandinavia grew immensely. More surprising is that Ingmar Bergman was, and still is, delighted by this fact. The film does provide somewhat of an argument for staying together (Johan and Marianne bounce back and forth on th divorce issue several times) and ultimately, as far as I understand, says that even the most strained relationships can be helped. I suppose it is all up to individual interpretations.

I think that "Scenes from a Marriage" is a film about communication. The lack of communication, and the inability to communicate at all, are the major contributing factors in the breakdown of Johan and Marianne's relationship. It isn't until the divorce papers come that the communication begins. A lack of communication with their own emotions prevents the two from seeing any way out other than divorce--they simply assume that it's too late and that all is said and done. It doesn't have to be that way, and "Scenes from a Marriage" will provide a wake up call to anyone who thinks it does.

After "Wild Strawberries," this is perhaps my favorite Bergman movie, though be warned: it will take the wind out of you, especially if you watch the full five-hour version in a condensed period of time, as I did.

Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson create perhaps too realistic a version of marriage in this emotionally bruising film. When Marianne (Ullmann) finds out that Johan (Josephson) has been cheating on her and has decided to leave her, the safe, secure world she has built around her crumbles. She plays Marianne as a wife blind to her own husband's unhappiness and embarrassed that she didn't see it coming, and her's is a convincing portrait of a woman whose partner has decided long before her that what they have isn't working.

Josephson makes Johan into a contemptible ass, but he still manages to earn our sympathy. It's easy to dislike Johan but difficult to hate him, so we're in many respects thrust into the same emotional straight jacket as Marianne.

The saddest thing about "Scenes from a Marriage" is how much affection and love there actually is between these two people, and how it's going to waste. When they get angry, they lash out to hurt one another with words and even with fists at one point. There are tears, laughs, reveries. It's obvious that there wouldn't be the need for all this if there wasn't so much ingrained affection between them, and it's tragic to see them become each other's enemy rather than each other's ally.

For a very good if not quite as brilliant sequel to this film, see "Saraband," which has Marianne visiting Johan for the first time in many years after each has established a life of his/her own without the other. It brings a peaceful sense of closure and in many ways stitches up the raw wound left by the first film.

Grade: A

"Scenes From A Marriage" is quite simply that: we meet Marianne & Johan ten years into their union & we witness half a dozen scenes of their lives. I'm not married, but I have of course known many people, family & friends, who were married & who talked, acted, & lived much like this couple does. That they are well-educated & affluent is somewhat irrelevant - married couples often seem to be keeping a certain secret (some keep it better than others) that they disguise with contentment, ritual, obligation, affection. Most of the time they keep this secret even from themselves. This movie is about the gradual discovery of the two main characters of the nature & ramifications of that secret.

As far as Bergman films go, it's strangely pretty, in color, with two attractive leads. But I think perhaps Bergman (& Sven Nykvist) sought to give us a sense of familiarity with the suburban, middle-class surroundings to lure us into a false sense of the security of the marriage in question. Without giving anything away, I suggest that this film is no less dark & heavy than other Bergman films; it rather goes for the heart in the way that you often wish modern dramas about relationships would. It's not trite, nor contrived, nor easily resolved. It's wise as life.

The movie was edited down by Bergman from a six-episode television series, which comprise the "scenes." The cast is great, but it's Ullmann & Josephson's show, & Ullmann is such a magnificent actor that I marvel at her expressive face, which Bergman smartly keeps his camera on.

It's unbearably wise, & sometimes difficult, but there aren't many films out there as honest as this one.

Enormous success it had with audiences of Swedish TV, where it was shown in six episodes paved way for its theatrical release. This however called for compromising almost half the original length of celluloid.

As one of more easily understandable Bergman films, "Scenes From A Marriage" met much enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlatic.

The film showcases great two of Ingmar Bergman's favorite actors. Both Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson give lively mature performances, lauded by critics.

Being a down-to-earth family drama with strong social commentary of great relevance, "Scenes From A Marriage" has something important to convey. It is a meaningful picture.

It reflects on the nature of relationship between man and woman. It invites us to ponder on this basic issue, a cornerstone of human society Although not quite in the same league with bona-fide Bergman classics like "The Seventh Seal" and "Persona", "Scenes From A Marriage" remains a powerful movie.

Scenes from a Marriage is a film about a breakup. We are not talking about some ephemeral youthful relationship, but a happy marriage of many years between a couple who truly feel they are happy together.

Yet cracks become visible, and soon the whole structure comes tumbling down as the once happy couple spends the next 15 years of their lives trying to make sense of it all. The film (aired in Sweden as a 6 part miniseries) is 5 hours of the most intense, painful, emotional conversations ever committed to celluloid. It is filmed almost entirely in close-up with sparse lighting and no music. I have watched it multiple times and by the end of the emotionally grueling experience it feels as though you have lived through each moment Johan and Marianne have experienced, no matter how far from your actual life any one detail might be.

That may not seem like the most pleasant viewing experience, but I should add that the film is not quite as harrowing as my description might make it seem. Yes, intense doesn't even begin to describe it, but Bergman has created the film with such honesty that there is no manipulation or unnecessary suffering. Even the immortal Eric Rohmer has never displayed this level of understanding into basic human relationships. Again, there is no manipulation here; Bergman would never stoop so low as to include suffering merely for the sake of additional drama. What is actually present in every second of the film is simply many lifetimes worth of wisdom on love, loss and moving on.

There are no easy answers in Scenes from a Marriage. The film is an emotional roller-coaster from start to finish. The person who is handling things the best will just as often have hit a new low when they are revisited down the road. The couple's bond will never disappear and yet they can never be what they were to each other. Old feelings resurface, old wounds reopen, old passions return and throughout it all Sven Nykvist's camera does not flinch. No film has done more with such a stark palate of images.

What elevates the film to "second favorite movie ever" level for me is not just the insight into human interaction, though that is my favorite subject matter in film. Scenes from a Marriage is not content to merely show what the loss of a loved one is like, Bergman also has a point beyond a simple documentation of the dissolution of a marriage.

By the final chapter, perfectly titled "In the Middle of the Night in a Dark House Somewhere in the World", an epiphany is reached. Johan and Marianne do not necessarily "get back together" or "never see each other again", but a certain level of acceptance is reached. That which can never be understood, which no one can put into words, and which has no solution is somehow grasped in the final scenes of this magnificent movie. Like a fleeting glimpse of the sun from inside a cave, all the mysteries of life and love briefly make sense.

While I never leave a viewing of Scenes from a Marriage feeling any less confused about the grand questions of life, I can't help but suspect that for a time during its brief 5 hours I almost had it. What more could any artist want from their viewer?