Saraband (2003)
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.
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.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 4,871
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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
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Cast
-
Liv Ullmann
Marianne -
Erland Josephson
Johan -
Börje Ahlstedt
Henrik -
Gunnel Fred
Martha Marianne's & Joh... -
Julia Dufvenius
Karin
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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.
A parlour-room theatre of emotional cruelty, with all exits barred by the past.
Top CriticWhile 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.
The performances -- welling, unified and multidimensional -- are beyond praise, as are Bergman's visual images.
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.
A stunning and complex final bow from a stunning and complex artist.
It is existential gruel, ten portions of misery handed down from the master. Compelling and intense, it is also pitiless.
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.
Bergman has a sharp talent for observing human conflicts without claiming to fully understand them.
So many great directors seem to go out with a whimper. Ingmar Bergman has gone out with a bang.
We find [Bergman]at 87, sifting through his pictures, wondering at the choices he's made.
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.
No one else could have made it, and you should see it.
Insightful as ever but a little dated in the set-up and treatment of the shooting.
Powerful and more than a little depressing, but it's also essential filmmaking for anyone who cares about one of the giants of cinema.
Any Bergman is better than most of the art-house dramas that have been shipped to the States from Europe in recent times.
It's easy to go out in style when you have style.
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.
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.
Like the best of Ingmar Bergman's films, Saraband has a hypnotic quality that draws in audiences who are patient.
A haunting series of heartbreaking duets between people for whom love is distant and death is uncomfortably close.
Audience Reviews for Saraband
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Latest News on Saraband
February 29, 2012:
Erland Josephson: 1923-2012The Ingmar Bergman mainstay passes away at the age of 88.
July 30, 2007:
Legendary Director Ingmar Bergman dies at 89Ingmar 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 ReleasesIn the hot summer months, everyone's looking for a way to cool down. This summer, movie audiences...
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Foreign Titles
- Sarabande (DE)
[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]