I remember in the seventies, going to see a Bergman film was very chic. His films were more \u201cintelligent\u201d than most mainstream cinema: Fanny and Alexander, Wild strawberries, Cries and whispers, Scenes from a marriage, The magic flute, and Private confessions, to name a few. Everyone thought he had produced his last work a long time ago, so hearing he had made a new film was very exciting. It is called \u201cSaraband\u201d. The word saraband refers to a piece of music, and the film is built like one. Also, music, the cello in particular, plays a big part in the story and in the film.
\nSimply put, Marianne (Ullman), some thirty years after divorcing Johan (Josephson), decides to visit her ex-husband at his summer home. She arrives in the middle of a family drama between Johan’s son from another marriage and his granddaughter.
\nIt is once again a brilliant film, but I did not find it as captivating as his previous works. I had a hard time with the quasi incestuous relationship between Johan\u2019s son and granddaughter\u2026and the long close ups which are still fascinating on Liv Ullman are a bit less so on a an aging Josephson. It is a beautiful film\u2026but it did not win me over as much as some of his previous work did many years ago.<\/p>\n