Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage
A Once-Acclaimed Drama Neglected When It May be Most Relevant
Jan 23, 2009
In the Spring of 1973 Ingmar Bergman, Sweden's filmmaker laureate, turned his hand to television with the premier of his six-part miniseries, Scenes from a Marriage. The episodic narrative follows the archetypical middle class couple Marianne and Johan (Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson) as they slowly and painfully disband their marriage.
A popular success in Europe, Scenes from a Marriage was championed in America by Bergman aficionado Woody Allen and eventually released theatrically worldwide in an abbreviated version (approximately three hours, cut down from five). Subsequent home video releases have gone a long way towards ensuring access for interested viewers but the atypical origins, unflinchingly humorless subject mater, and overshadowing presence of more famous Bergman films have resulted in a status of utter, unnecessary neglect.
The Case for Pertinence
Of course it is not surprising that very few contemporary viewers would take lasting interest in a lengthy, dry, 35-year old made-for-TV Swedish film. The obviousness of this fact may be the sadness here, because Scenes from a Marriage speaks to a modern audience as clearly and incisively as any recent production.
The reason Scenes from a Marriage is able to remain so relevant is the universal nature of its subject. Romantic relationships fascinate us and permeate out fictions, and this has been true for as long as people have been telling stories. Often a relationship story forms the subtext of a narrative, existing within the context of characters and events that make the work unique. Scenes from a Marriage instead stakes its exclusive territory in refusing to embellish, telling only the story of Johan and Marianne with minimal reference to the outside world. (Bergman famously set the scenes almost entirely indoors, with extraneous characters few and far between.)
Since there is nothing for it to compete against or receive external commentary from, the relationship itself is the action, drama, and even the comedy that makes Scenes from a Marriage more than a filmed conversation. Brilliantly understated performances from both Ullmann and Josephson dominate every moment. Bergman stages believable scenarios and films them with an objective detachment that is surprising for an auteur who clearly had a personal investment in his work, completing it shortly after entering into his own fifth marriage.
Just as its simplicity of subject engenders excellence in storytelling, the series' length allows for a burgeoning intimacy that can only be revealed with the presence of quiet moments and sometimes repetitious exchanges. The brutality of a confession or denouncement takes on all the weight of a grand battle, coming as it does after hushed comforting, pleading, or rationalizing.
A Neglected Masterpiece
Scenes from a Marriage no doubt draws its neglect in part from being somewhat extraneous to Bergman's body of work. Shot on grainy 16-millimeter by esteemed and perennial collaborator, cinematographer Sven Nykvist, the lengthy close-ups and medium shots, coupled with the lack of symbolic imagery, place it among Bergman's least cinematic works. Rather, it is in many ways a filmed performance, making use of the emotion-inducing potential of the realistic film image.
Following Bergman's 2007 death, his films became fashionable targets of praise; all too absent from the lists was Scenes from a Marriage. Never ostentatious or overtly excellent, its value instead lies in wait for anyone able to temporarily disregard the increasingly narrow definition of what a movie should be, and willing to watch something for which they fill find few partners in discussion.
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