Saraband

Marianne addresses the camera directly and asks whether or not she should visit her ex-husband Johann, whom she has not seen in almost 30 years, and answers almost immediately in the affirmative. Travelling to his cabin in the woods where he now resides, the couple picks up where they left off as if no time has passed and begin to ruminate their lives while becoming involved in a scenario with Johann's son and his unhealthy relationship with his prodigious teenage daughter. In the final statement of his abounding career as a director, Ingmar Bergman reunites his characters 30 years following "Scenes from a Marriage". Now in the twilight of their lives, Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson once more give tender and consummate performances as a couple who long ago ended their marriage but have still managed to maintain their friendship and even attraction. When Ullman and Josephson grace the screen "Saraband" is wonderful and intelligent film, and a touching tribute to the legendary director whom they both worked under at length. When the story involving Johann's son and grandaughter takes center stage, it is (unsurprisingly) less engaging as we await for the two stars to reappear. "Saraband" is a moving and fitting both to a wonderful story as well as an unsurpassed career.