Saraband (2005)

"It is a luminous, sensuous examination of human relationships.  James Verniere, Boston Herald
"...a testament to Bergman's skill as a filmmaker...  Jamie Woolley, BBC

Editor's Note In this heartfelt drama from the inimitable Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, a woman (Bergman's longtime favorite Liv Ullmann) visits her ex-husband after a 30-year separation, only to become involved in the lives of his son and granddaughter from his late second wife.

	Borje Ahlstedt
	Erland Josephson
	Julia Dufvenius
	Liv Ullmann
	Goran Wassberg - Production Designer
	Ingmar Bergman - Director
	Ingmar Bergman - Writer
	Stefan Eriksson, et. al. - Cinematographer
	Sylvia Ingemarsson - Editor

Entertainment Weekly
"[Y]ou feel the pull of Bergman's craft..." 07/15/2005 p.53

New York Times
"Ms. Ullman, now 65, and Mr. Josephson, 81, have a supreme mastery of the Bergman style. Their performances are spiritual and emotional X-rays." 07/08/2005 p.E18

Movieline's Hollywood Life
"[I]t dissects painful family dynamics with scalding power....As always in a Bergman film, the acting is magisterial." 07/01/2005 p.99-100

Sight and Sound
"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." 10/01/2005 p.44-45

San Francisco Chronicle 9 of 10
If Saraband is not one of the best Bergman films, it's a very good one and a valuable statement from a great artist in old age. Grief hangs over the film, echoing the long-lasting grief Bergman experienced over the death of his wife, Ingrid, in 1995. So is the grim conviction that people can't be fixed and few are saved. Yet there's one thing heartening about Saraband, aside from its being a brilliant showcase for the actors. It assures us that Bergman is unchanged. - Mick LaSalle

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
The overwhelming fact about this movie is its awareness of time. Thirty-two years have passed since Scenes from a Marriage. The years have passed for Bergman, for Ullmann, for Josephson, and for us. Whatever else he is telling us in Saraband, Bergman is telling is that life will end on the terms with which we have lived it. If we are bitter now, we will not be victorious later; we will still be bitter. Here is a movie about people who have lived so long, hell has not been able to wait for them. - Roger Ebert