Opening

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—— Fill the Void May 24
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—— After Earth May 31
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88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

Saraband (2003)

tomatometer

92

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 83
Fresh: 76 | Rotten: 7

If Saraband appears to be a minor entry in Ingmar Bergman's filmography, it's still an accomplished piece of work from one of cinema's greatest masters.

93

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Critic Reviews: 30
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 2

If Saraband appears to be a minor entry in Ingmar Bergman's filmography, it's still an accomplished piece of work from one of cinema's greatest masters.

audience

83

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 4,871

My Rating

Movie Info

As the final masterwork of Ingmar Bergman, the world's most revered cinematic craftsperson, Saraband embodies the sequel to the director's five-hour Scenes from a Marriage, produced and directed 30 years after that original epic. Here, Bergman revisits the two characters from that film, divorcees Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullmann), after years of estrangement from one another. Marianne now lives alone; of her two middle-aged daughters from the marriage to Johan, one lives in

R,

Drama, Television, Art House & International

Ingmar Bergman

Jan 10, 2006

$0.5M

Sony Pictures Classics - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (83) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (7) | DVD (8)

With Saraband, the great writer-director has stepped back into the ring for one last epic wrestle with his demons. There is, as always, no easy outcome. But no one ever fought for higher emotional and spiritual stakes.

November 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Newsweek
Newsweek
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A parlour-room theatre of emotional cruelty, with all exits barred by the past.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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While bringing an abundance of inspiration to this world, Bergman unapologetically refused to ignore the pain and darkness that infects mankind. There will never be another filmmaker like him.

December 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
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The performances -- welling, unified and multidimensional -- are beyond praise, as are Bergman's visual images.

September 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
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For those inclined to search for psychological twists, the film offers plenty of Freudian situations capable of provoking lengthy discussions. For the film buff, the discussions will turn to a Bergman still at the peak of his craft.

August 12, 2005 Full Review Source: Miami Herald
Miami Herald
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A stunning and complex final bow from a stunning and complex artist.

August 11, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It is existential gruel, ten portions of misery handed down from the master. Compelling and intense, it is also pitiless.

August 7, 2012 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Saraband is a commandingly restrained final composition and -- as the theme of classical musicianship suggests -- very much an affair of close attention to the nuances of performance.

June 18, 2012 Full Review Source: Sight and Sound
Sight and Sound

Bergman has a sharp talent for observing human conflicts without claiming to fully understand them.

June 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine

So many great directors seem to go out with a whimper. Ingmar Bergman has gone out with a bang.

February 28, 2008 Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com
BrandonFibbs.com

We find [Bergman]at 87, sifting through his pictures, wondering at the choices he's made.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International
Film Journal International

It goes without saying that Saraband doesn't make for light hearted viewing. But this is a powerful, emotional family drama that can happily rank with some of Bergman's best work.

June 3, 2006 Full Review Source: Future Movies UK

No one else could have made it, and you should see it.

May 12, 2006 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento News & Review

Insightful as ever but a little dated in the set-up and treatment of the shooting.

April 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

Powerful and more than a little depressing, but it's also essential filmmaking for anyone who cares about one of the giants of cinema.

February 1, 2006 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Any Bergman is better than most of the art-house dramas that have been shipped to the States from Europe in recent times.

January 28, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's easy to go out in style when you have style.

January 18, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

confessional outbursts are captured in lengthy takes, usually in mercilessly tight close-ups.... It's as if Bergman is taking X-rays of their souls.

November 8, 2005 Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette
Kalamazoo Gazette

Even if it is, as he claims, his last film, Saraband will be a testament to Bergman's skill as a filmmaker, still a creative force to be reckoned with after 60-plus years in the business.

October 8, 2005 Full Review Source: BBC

Like the best of Ingmar Bergman's films, Saraband has a hypnotic quality that draws in audiences who are patient.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A haunting series of heartbreaking duets between people for whom love is distant and death is uncomfortably close.

August 26, 2005
Salt Lake Tribune

Audience Reviews for Saraband

[font=Century Gothic]"Saraband", written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, takes place thirty years after the events of "Scenes from a Marriage".(But it is not essential that you see the earlier movie to watch "Saraband.") Once married, Johan(Erland Josephson) and Marianne(Liv Ullmann) have not seen each other in the interim when she decides on a whim to visit him. Johan is now retired from being a professor because of an inheritance from an aunt and living in the country. His son, Henrik(Borje Ahlsedt), from a different marriage, and Henrik's daughter, Karin(Julia Dufvenius), live nearby physically but distant emotionally. Karin's saintly mother, Anna, died two years before. Henrik is an underemployed music professor while Karin is a 19-year old talented classical musician in need of professional training. It is the relationship between Karin and Henrik that takes center stage here.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]Ingmar Bergman has not lightened up in his old age. "Saraband" is a chamber piece which is mostly about the damage parents can do to their children. The main flaw here is that there is no real resolution to the main conflict. The performances are of course all great.[/font]

[font=Century Gothic]Note: I know a lot has been made of this being Ingmar Bergman's swan song. But this is the first appearance of Liv Ullmann, 66, in front of a camera in nearly ten years. So, I am wondering how many more movies will she be appearing in? [/font]
August 14, 2005
Harlequin68
Walter M.

Super Reviewer

Late Bergman that wasn't quite as well received as his earlier films. I liked it though. We still have very profound relationships to explore.
September 19, 2012
John Ballantine

Super Reviewer

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Latest News on Saraband

February 29, 2012:
Erland Josephson: 1923-2012
The Ingmar Bergman mainstay passes away at the age of 88.

July 30, 2007:
Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman dies at 89
Ingmar Bergman, the "poet with a camera," died in his sleep at his home in Faro, Sweden Monday at...

October 5, 2005:
Summer Tomatometer Wrap-up #3: The Best of the Limited Releases
In the hot summer months, everyone's looking for a way to cool down. This summer, movie audiences...

Foreign Titles

  • Sarabande (DE)
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