Scènes de la vie conjugale

Ten stars for the theatrical cut. One of my difficulties with the set-up is that I can't wrap my head around the notion that any man would walk out on Liv Ullman. But, of course, Johan really couldn't bring himself to do that, as it turns out. This is clearly a low-budget project, but one that Bergman also lavished attention on. The script, shot choice and direction are all both stunning and emotionally devestating. Bergman spent his whole career thinking about relationships. That theme dominated his early work, and even runs through the background of his dark magic realism films of the 1950s. By the 1970s he was able to approach the subject with a world-weary maturity that is missing from early films like Summer Interlude. And this may be the most mature and haunting study of the subject he or anyone else has ever managed. This is a cut-down from the five hour miniseries, so there are a lot of little nuggets that hit the cutting room floor. I noticed that the most in The Illiterates, but, even there, nothing essential got snipped. If you don't mind a film about the interaction between a couple, with no special effects or flash, if you appreciate honest studies of the range and depth of normal human emotional interaction, if you want to see brilliant actors working for a brilliant director all at the top of their game, and if you think you might not have the patience for the 5-hour version, watch this. It's worth it. 26 July 2021.