
The title is apt; each "scene" is an episode, and taken as a series they chart the dissolution of a marriage and the evolution of a relationship. Liv Ullman is luminous (it's hard to look at anything but her) as Marianne, a woman who is devastated by the breakup of her marriage, but comes to realize who she was meant to be, as opposed to who she became in a relationship. Erland Josephson plays Johan, who sort of undergoes the opposite realization.
The best parts of this series are the moments of absurdity that reveal themselves in the minutiae of Marianne and Johan's relationship. Their marriage is on the brink of collapse, Johan is planning on leaving in the morning, and they go to bed together. Marianne suddenly leaps up, leans over Johan and picks up the alarm clock from his side of the bed, lying against him as she sets the alarm so he's up in time.
Love is complicated. Life is complicated. Scenes from a Marriage is complicated yet beautifully simple.
5/5 stars.
1 comment:
I am going to make it my business to see this asap!
Post a Comment