Saraband (TV 2003)

Marianne, some thirty years after divorcing Johan, decides to visit her ex-husband at his summer home. She arrives in the middle of a family drama between Johan's son from another marriage and his granddaughter.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman

Stars:

Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Börje Ahlstedt

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Liv Ullmann	...	Marianne
Erland Josephson	...	Johan
Börje Ahlstedt	...	Henrik
Julia Dufvenius	...	Karin
Gunnel Fred	...	Martha

Storyline

Marianne and Johan meet again after thirty years without contact, when Marianne suddenly feels a need to see her ex-husband again. She decides to visit Johan at his old summer house in the western province of Dalarna. And so, one beautiful autumn day, there she is, beside his reclining chair, waking him with a light kiss. Staying at a cottage on the property are Johan's son Henrik and Henrik's daughter Karin. Henrik is giving his daughter cello lessons and already sees her future as staked out. Relations between father and son are very strained, but both are protective of Karin. They are all still mourning Anna, Henrik's much-loved wife, who died two years ago, yet who, in many ways, remains present among them. Marianne soon realizes that things are not all as they should be, and she finds herself unwillingly drawn into a complicated and upsetting power struggle.

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Plot Keywords:

visit | cello lesson | marriage | cello | summer home | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief nudity, language and a violent image

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics

Country:

Sweden Italy Germany Finland Denmark Austria

Language:

Swedish English German

Release Date:

1 December 2003 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Sarabanda

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$34,304 (USA) (8 July 2005)

Gross:

$645,634 (USA) (28 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Danmarks Radio (DR), Network Movie Film-und Fernsehproduktion, Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claudio Abbado is an Italian conductor who has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera, and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra.

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Goofs

There are some interesting discrepancies in relation to the time line of the characters. The ages given for the characters are 63 (Marianne), 86 (Johan) and 61 (Henrik). Marianne says that she has not seen Johan for 32 years and that they had been married for 16 years. This means that she married Johan when she was 15 and he was 38. Johan had a falling out with his son when Henrik was 18/19, which must have been after Johan's marriage to Marianne.

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Connections

Referenced in Orada (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Cello Suite no. 5 in C Minor, Movement 4: Saraband"
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by Thorleif Thedeen

User Reviews

Troubled Relationships

After thirty years without seeing each other, Marianne (Liv Ulmann) has a strong need to visit Johan (Erland Josephson), who is living in an isolated house that belonged to his grandparents after inheriting a fortune from a distant aunt. In the nearby cottage, Johan's son from another marriage, Henrik (Börje Ahlstedt), is living with his daughter Karin (Julia Dufvenious), after the death of his beloved wife Anna. Henrik is giving cello lessons to Karin to be admitted into a European music school and has an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Along the autumn, Marianne is involved in the troubled relationship between Johan and his son, and Henrik and his daughter.

In his last work as a director, Ingmar Bergman revisits the characters of 1973 "Scenes from a Marriage" thirty years older, with Marianne sharing the dramatic and complicated relationship of John's family. The first point that impresses in this movie is the always precise and careful direction of an 83 years old Ingmar Bergman, showing an amazing vitality and longevity in his career. I do not recall the last movie I have seen of Liv Ulmann, but this now senior actress is still fantastic. This theatrical movie is a great character study, as usual in Bergman's films, with excellent and emotional dialogs, and ends with many open issues. Why Johan and Henrik hate each other so deeply? What was written in the last page of Anna's farewell letter? I believe she knew that her husband was having an incestuous relationship with Karin. The unknown actress Julia Dufvenious is extremely beautiful and talented, and her contradictory character is also impressive. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Saraband"