Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Ingmar Bergman's "Scenes From a Marriage" covers a span of ten years in the lives of Johan and Marianne, ten tumultuous years chronicling every kind of experience that either enriches or poisons marital life. The result is the most complete, insightful and disturbing philosophical essay about marriage, its affect on life and life's affect on it. It is also one of Bergman's greatest films, served by two stellar performances from Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson.I used the word 'disturbing' because whether you look at marriage as a lifelong partnership or a sacred contract based on love and mutual respect, the movie will have an indubitable pedagogic value. Indeed, each of the six fifty-minute episodes reflects a situation that is critical to our understanding of the sacrifices implied by marriage, which leads to a torturing dilemma: if we relate to Johan and Marianne, we might fear their misadventures strike our couple, if we don't, we must ask ourselves whether we're not unconsciously blinding our eyes. And the first episode sets the tone when Johan and Marianne are being interviewed for a press article. We discover a solid, relatively young bourgeois couple, married for ten years, with two daughters. He's a university teacher and (fitting irony) she's a lawyer specialized in divorces. The idyll is too conveniently irreproachable for a couple that even admits it wasn't love at first sight but rather a mutual consent supported by their respective families. They don't brag about love and passion anyway, more about peace, satisfaction and achievements. Liv Ullman's hesitance contrasting with Josephson's confidence, leaves us with the feeling of a successful marriage but a successful registration to the ordinary formula of life providing an ersatz of happiness. Many times they have to remind themselves how understanding and affectionate they are to each other, would they insist that much if there was no problem? The film hints the eventual dangers awaiting the couple in the following sequence, one of Bergman's greatest scenes.During a dinner, an argument starts between their two friends Peter and Katarina (played by the energetic Bibi Andersson), and gets out of control. All they have is hatred and contempt to each other, physically and psychologically, but professionally, they're partners and business would suffer from a divorce. Their argument is so intense in its obscenity it reduces the lead couple to the role of passive observers. But it's Bergman's masterstroke of directing to let Peter and Katarina monopolize the screen while we have quick shots on Johan and Marianne. Bergman cleverly lures us into feeling exactly what Johan and Marian feel, a mix of embarrassment and consternation induced by voyeurism, with the fear that this scenario might happen to them in a next future. Like them, we're less disturbed by voyeurism than the insightful warnings it conveys. And the first warning is given when Marianne discovers she's pregnant and doesn't know what to do. The scene contains the film's most defining shot: Johan and Marianne in bed, talking to each other, but not looking at the same direction, as an unconscious way to avoid hurting truths. They don't give the right answers by hiding them but by not asking the right questions. Why not a baby? It's not a material problem, since they can afford it. It's obvious Johan and Marianne's lives are meticulously constructed since Marianne's efforts to change the vacation programs or cancel a family visit are fruitless, a baby might break the routine for better or worse? Then she listens to a woman who wants a divorce after twenty years. She admits then that she never loved her children, which rings as a less shocking statement when we keep in mind that it was loveless marriage."Scenes from a Marriage" highlights the eternal dichotomy between love and hate, especially in marital relationships. Marriage is an institution, often conditioned by family and society. The resulting conflict is that while loving someone is a genuine feeling, being married implies some duties whose applications might interfere with our inner personalities. Whether it's sex life, success and dreams, they can sometimes be undermined by marital life. The danger is to stop looking at the man or the woman of our life, but as the one who's destroying it or sinking it into the abysses of routine and conventions. The trigger comes from Johan, who reveals a much more artistic and passionate soul, openly flirts with some colleagues, and finally decides to leave Marianne for a younger student named Paula.The film takes off for a rich, gripping and powerful two-character study, two fascinating evolutions, exuded through haunting and magnificently written monologues and powerful close-ups, Bergman's most recognizable signatures, transcended by Sven Nykvist' minimalist cinematography, indispensable to convey the realism of a documentary format. As Marianne who, after humiliating herself to prevent Johan from leaving, finally blooms and discovers her inner strength, Liv Ullman displays the widest range of emotions in one of the greatest female performances ever. "Scenes from a Marriage" is mostly set after the separation, but that's not a misleading title, it's always about a couple, facing a painful but necessary tragedy. It's necessary because love shouldn't be at the expenses of self-esteem and that, I guess, is the most important lesson. Marianne told the journalist in the beginning: "fidelity is only possible if it's obvious". It stops being obvious, when people are unfaithful to their own personalities, their own personas in Bergmanian language. At the end, both Johan and Marianne admitted, they wore masks all their lives and could never take them off. A successful marriage is one where both care for each other without sacrificing their own self. That's why the movie concludes with a light of hope: the separation allowed Johan and Marianne to get rid of the artificial limits that suffocated their lives and ultimately their marriage. The core remained intact through affection, complicity, respect and mutual caring built on experience, wisdom… and even marriage after all.

This is not a film for those who don't like to see the issue of love and marriage dissected as never before, I think. And, for this review, I cover every major plot point and what I see as the underpinnings of the story. So, if you haven't seen it, you may want to read other reviews first.I know of no other film that takes such an uncompromising view of the truth – according to Bergman – about marriage; although Kubrick made a valiant attempt in Eyes Wide Shut (1999). This story is just too emotionally painful, however, because it asks questions that, I would suggest, most married couples have thought of, if not discussed, but most would avoid answering honestly. Because there is a strong implied argument, by the end of this film, that romantic love within marriage is a contradiction – mainly because a marriage between two is a business, just like any other. So, if you want a marriage to work – if it indeed can – then it must be worked at, by both, in the same or better way as a business.Scenes from a marriage is an episodic exposition of distinct events – scenes – that occur over a period of fifteen or more years between Marianne (Liv Ullman) and Johan (Erland Josephson). The version I saw was the 164 minute theatrical presentation for cinema. The original story was filmed for TV and was much longer.For clarity, I've labelled the scenes as follows: 1. The Interview; 2. The Dinner Party; 3. The Client; 4. The Truth; 5. The Separation; 6. The Return Visit; 7. The Divorce; and 8. The Affair and Revelation.1. The film opens with a magazine writer interviewing and filming Marianne and Johan as representing what can only be described as the perfectly married couple. Johan is insufferably confident and bombastic about himself, barely admitting that he can even make mistakes. Marianne, in contrast, is subdued, uncertain, deprecating – almost a parody of the good wife who defers to the subtly domineering husband.2. At a dinner party later, with married couple Katrina (Bibi Andersson) and Peter (Jan Malmsjo) – and during which the magazine article is discussed - Johan and Marianne discover that the marriage of their two friends is a sham, with the excessive drinking by Peter very much helping to loosen his tongue as the evening progresses, much to the embarrassment of all.3. Later, at work, Marianne, being a lawyer, is interviewing a woman client who wants a divorce. During that emotionally draining and frank disclosure, Marianne learns two things: the woman wants out of a marriage in which there is no love and, on Marianne's face, there is the growing realization about the similarities between the two women vis-à-vis their separate marriages.4. Eventually, Johan comes to Marianne one evening to announce that he's leaving her for Paula, a much younger (of course) woman. Stunned, aghast, and totally sandbagged, Marianne finds herself agreeing to let Johan go, after a long and tortuous discussion.5. Johan leaves and Marianne despairs to the point of calling a trusted friend for advice – only to learn that the friend had known about Johan's infidelity for two years. Marianne is shattered and Ullman's performance here, in extreme closeup on her face, is beyond describing. Somehow, however, Marianne pulls herself together; like many women, she's a survivor and sets out to find out more about herself.6. Still married though, Johan carries on, as does Marianne, both separately, although they've both agreed that a divorce is best. Johan, however, tires of Paula and her ways, and returns after two years to see Marianne and the children (who are now growing up, of course). They discuss their situation once again and Johan eventually comes clean: he wants to dump Paula and come back. Marianne is surprisingly hopeful, but – as expected – Johan chickens out at one o'clock in the morning and leaves again.7. Time passes but finally, they meet to sign the divorce papers. And yet, Johan still wavers, wanting to think it over, but Marianne is obdurate: she's moved on, and relishes her freedoms. The deal is done.8. Many years later, after both marrying and settling down with new partners, Johan and Marianne get together for a more-or-less continuous affair, quite happy apparently to cheat on their spouses while maintaining their happy(?) marriages. During the final conversation, however, they both recognize their innate inability to truly love anybody – perhaps even themselves.So, with this story, there is no dramatic denouement, no great finish to a love story that might have been: it's just the brutal reality of the need for communication and romance, unfettered by responsibility and accountability. Freedom at last...Almost certainly, in my opinion, this story has a lot of Bergman in it. He had quite a few marriages, I understand, so an autobiographical slant wouldn't be surprising. And while there is the obvious need for love and understanding for all of us, Bergman seems to be saying, in effect, that the individual is primary. Hence, although each must abide by the dictates of society's norms for functional acceptance and survival, it is only when free from those strictures that the individual is truly free. Of course, there's a paradox in that thinking – without structure and stricture, the idea of freedom is nonsensical – with many philosophers expounding thereon. Suffice to say, I think, that the French, above all, have succeeded where others have failed.The acting is just flawless. Ullman and Josephson are on screen almost every scene and significantly, we never see the children or Paula. And, as with most Bergman films, the lack of frills – just excellent photography, editing and script – allows the viewer to take it all in, unexpurgated, unsullied and, for some, probably unwelcome. Recommended.

Scenes from a Marriage (1973) Theatrical version **** (out of 4) Ingmar Bergman's nearly three-hour drama about a husband (Erland Josephson) and wife (Liv Ullman) who's been married for ten years and then discover they can't stand one another yet they can't keep apart. I viewed the theatrical version, which is three hours full of conversations and nothing but conversations yet I can't wait to view the TV version, which runs two hours longer. For a three-hour film that has nothing but talking going on, this thing turned out to be a real masterpiece and I'm glad to read that the TV version is even better. Bergman has quickly jumped to one of my favorite directors, right up there with Scorsese, Kubrick and Allen. The funny thing is that this film clearly influenced everything Woody Allen did after this year in his career. Annie Hall, Manhattan and especially Husbands and Wives, which is pretty much a remake of this, are heavily influenced by this film. The two actors do a marvelous job with their roles as they've got to depend on acting skills, which most would fall on their face trying to do. The wide range of emotions they go through, sometimes seconds apart, is remarkable to watch and I'm starting to feel Ullman is perhaps the greatest actress I've seen when it comes to playing emotion. What I loved most is how honest, brutal and open this film is towards relationships in general. There's a lot of ugly nature in this film but hey, that's life and I think that's the entire message of the film. A remarkable piece of work that hits every note correctly and certainly has me wanting more.

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?