Ingmar Bergman's "Saraband"

[dirac]

Ingmar Bergman has returned to filmmaking, at 85, with “Saraband.” Andrew Sarris reviews it in the New York Observer.

http://www.observer.com/culture_sarrismovies.asp

Those of us who can remember Ms. Ullmann and Mr. Josephson from the earlier film may be forgiven for assuming that Mr. Bergman, in his own old age, has decided to illustrate how two of his best-known characters (and actors) have chosen to face their own uncertain prospects of eternity. We turn out to be not entirely wrong in this assumption, though the film is about much, much more.

[bart]

Fine review, and GREAT photo of Josephson and especially Ullman. I feel I've known them since we were all young. And I'm glad to see them still working so well together -- and working with a Bergman still creating important art.

[dirac]

I'm really looking forward to seeing this. Ullmann came out of retirement to do it.

Bergman’s been working in the theatre and television, but he’s just not busy enough, I guess.

A nice review from David Sterritt of the Christian Science Monitor.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0708/p15s01-almo.html

Bergman officially "retired" from cinema with "Fanny and Alexander" in 1982, although he's continued to make TV movies and direct stage plays. For me, his work started running out of steam with "From the Life of the Marionettes" in 1980, becoming static, ponderous, and often too talky for comfort.

The same charges may be leveled at "Saraband" by today's more fidgety viewers. I feel it triumphs over Bergman's weaker tendencies, however, by virtue of its profound investment in music - reflected by its title, by the Bach and Bruckner pieces it employs, and by its meditative visual style, as eloquent and elegant as any saraband could be.