Scenes from a Marriage at Criticker.com (2025)

Few movies have ever bothered less with plot, style, or conventional guidelines; in no movie have they ever mattered less. Bergman's triumph is to create two characters who are so convincingly fleshed out that to see them on screen is to know them intimately: to love them, hate them, and to share in their pain, sorrow, and redemption every step of the way. In its own way, through all the fighting and heartbreak, this is the most romantic movie ever made; it's the best romance I've ever seen.

The performances aren't just great, they are 100% convincing. The characters aren't just well developed, they are 100% real people, more so than many actual people I've met. The direction and cinematography aren't anything special, but they don't need to be, as any unusual tricks would only have served as distractions from the film's absolute realism.

Every relationship is essentially the same. We are mountains for eachother desperately seeking meaning in our Sisyphusian existence. Once again Bergman playing god with his petty subjects.

Powerful, real and often brutal, Bergman creates two characters that you will relate with no matter who you are. The acting is of course top-notch, and the camerawork is so subtle, you will actually forget you are watching a film. No other piece of cinema has affected me as much as this.

On infidelity. This is the greatest movie of the 1970s, and in a sense captures the essence of that decade. It is the greatest depiction of a relationship onscreen, and probably the greatest ever record of actors' performances. One of the greatest films of all time is a TV series! A singular achievement. Slightly more extended discussion here (from 1999): https://www.academia.edu/13143431/Scenes_from_a_Marriage_1999_ Re-watched: August 2021.

Lip-knawingly real. The complexes of life, love, and intellect. No one is safe, least so the viewer. The script of a wise man.

Yet another powerful work from Bergman. The things these characters say to each other ring so true... they're conversations that you've had, or at least feel you've had or could have. Amazing performances, too.

(2nd viewing) An emotionally resonant script of precision and unparalleled humility. A shame some people don't realise marriage is composed of these moments of uncertitude and commotion, and how working past them enforces its foundation together with heartfelt empathy. The lead actors give the most natural performances ever recorded on screen, though I guess the real star of this film is Bergman himself, who's in complete control of his visuals and subject matter. Highly recommended!

Extremely engaging and well made film. The camera is invisible, it's like we are watching moments from these people's lives without them knowing. The performances by Ullman and Josephson are two of the best ever. Arguably Bergman's finest.

Two of the best performances I've ever seen. Bergman is absolutely brilliant. Almost definitely the best relationship in the history of the cinema (so far as one can really make that claim).

This is acting at its finest. Everything else in the film is in a back seat, kept muted and made almost irrelevant. They explore everything about love here, its ups and downs and it's tough to believe you're not watching two people who've been married for 10 years. It's stunning.

(TV cut) It's amazing that in its entire 5 hour runtime, this film stays relentlessly efficient, and Bergman never wavers emotional intensity. No time is wasted, and you're left hanging on every word. The absence of stylistic flourish, the insulated atmosphere, and two incredibly authentic performances provide total immersion. It's painstakingly realistic, and by the end I felt drained.

Becomes more universal upon repeated viewings. This is the human condition, this is life.

An incredible movie on nearly every level. The characters are so real that it almost feels as if you're watching a documentary. While it's primarily about marriage and relationships it explores many aspects of personal motivations and fullfilment through characters that are genuinely complex.

Note that this rating is for the TV miniseries version, which is, in my opinion, far superior to the theatrical cut. Scenes From a Marriage is a complete masterpiece, and it is certainly a must-see film/miniseries for anyone with a serious interest in cinema.

Man, I'm not even married and I want a divorce.

I'm pretty sure all the problems in this movie could have been avoided if Johan wasn't so lousy at sex.

What an insightful script, dealing with lies, self-deception, love, infidelity, obsessiveness, basically all the sources of struggle in people's lives, and at the same time what makes us human. Has some of the best acting performances I've seen. Everyone has or will be experiencing a lot of what these characters are going through, and it all feels almost unpleasantly real.

Wow. Brutally honest and emotionally naked film. Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson turn in amazing performances and Bergman utilizes close-up shots and silence to great emotional effect. I felt like I was physically beside Marianne and Johan through each phase of their highly tumultuous relationship. Highly recommended.

Scenes From a Marriage is an epic of a completely different kind. It's internally intense and very emotional without being melodramatic or sappy at any point. Bergman captures the essence of a troubled relationship in a gripping state; it's extraordinarily powerful.

A masterclass of acting and characterization. And no less than my favorite from Bergman.

This is Bergmans relentless statement about the institutionalization of love by the society and marriage with the two phantastic actors Erland Josephson and Liv Ullman.

Has some great moments but simply, there is not enough material to carry the movie through its 170 minute span. Despite the fact that I like this type of movies where everything is based on acting and dialogue, I got bored somewhere close to the second hour.

Probably the most affecting film without a score that I have seen. The performances are so wonderfully nuanced and compelling that the stage play-like qualities of the film did not detract from the intimate reality it portrays.

gets better and better as you get further into it - the final two "scenes" are sublime

Showing the transformation and truely metamorphic timeline of marriage, from the first vows to divorce, Scenes from a Marriage is probably Bergman's most recital impelled and motivated film ever. There is barely anything else going on, but this is the entire proposition. What our legendary filmmaker was trying to come across was to prove than even without all the fabrics that the average movie requires, he manages to make a movie watchable from just the reciprocation of two people. Brilliant.

Two of the best written characters in the history of cinema come courtesy of Bergman. To see Ullman and Josephson together on screen in this film makes you want to actually see their chats for entire days.

Of Bergman's films that I've gotten around to watching, this is the one I enjoy the most. You can relate to the characters, the close-ups are powerful yet not overwhelming, and you can actually take something away from this masterpiece. This film, to me, truly captures the "human spirit" in its range of emotions and character interaction.

Just - wow. Blown away. Still digesting the impact. True art - true life - I am so grateful to experience this mirroring of aspects of the human condition & relationship already reverberating in my soul, so grateful for the insights into how life can be - has been - for others, and me had I been born into a different time or circumstance... and a sense of being let in on Lessons From The Elders, the weary and tender ones, bewildered and open. Exquisitely portrayed and executed. Gratitude

Okay, so this is mostly just two actors in the same setting discussing the dissolution of their marriage. I'd put on a 50-minute episode, and then moments later, those 50 minutes would be complete. How the hell is this so engaging? I learned that Swedish relationships are weird as hell. When Ullmann finds out her husband is not only cheating on her, but leaving her the next day, it is the most tempered reaction.

I watched the TV-Series and it was an emotional watch, you really feel immerse and invested on this relationship and you kind of get the feeling that this people are incredibly lonely even though they are together, but then they realize they are alone together.

For the whole thing to work I think you'd need the lead male character to have any semblance of redeeming characteristics (unless the whole thing is an exercise in what women have to put up with within a marriage but I'd reckon that's not it and that you're supposed to empathize with his nonsense). There's still a couple really touching scenes because of Liv Ullman and her mastery. Good camera work

I watched the 3 hour theatrical version of this and kind of want to immediately watch the 5 hour television version. This is beautifully frustrating in the way real people can be, and watching these two incredible actors, Ullman in particular, embody these characters is sublime.

One of the best of Bergman's later works, "Scenes from a Marriage" shows the tumultuous rollercoaster of a marital breakdown, up-close and intimate. Focusing almost exclusively on the bickering of the couple, it rests on the pure power of good dialogue.

Perhaps one of the most intimate series that many can easily identify with. Two domestic characters that grow on a complete different spectrum as they face a sudden tragedy in their relationship. Bergman makes a wonderful and yet ghastly remark to the social subject that shapes human nature. There's evidence that one's childhood has an everlasting impact on emotional tendencies and views about life. The distinct characterization is brilliant and challenges viewers to reflect on themselves.

the ultimate screen love story

'In some fundamental way they have touched, really touched, and the memory of that touching will be something to hold to all of their days.' Roger Ebert nailed it with that one. I always thought of marriage as some weird, illogical social convention that suppresses the true fundamentals of human nature. The film agrees, but also shows that marriage is a framework for bonding. It's all so human and so close to our feelings that I'll have to reassess my point of view on the subject. A great film.

about as good as two people talking for five hours could ever be.

A brutally honest, relentlessly truthful, painful, exasperating, life-affirming, wise, thought provoking and highly challenging film.

Completely captivating. Josephson and Ullmann give complex, riveting performances. Love. Christ.

There is frankly nothing I could say about this film which would do it justice - but I think Bergman may be God.

This is a great, great movie, and one I would give a perfect score to if not for the fact that it was such a draining experience. I don't know if I've ever been hit harder emotionally watching a film.

Utterly brilliant in every way.

Gosh.

An amazing film that is both simple and complex in its portrayal of love, marriage and life in general. The structure is simple, but how both characters interact with each other makes most other love stories look like elementary school plays.

Remarkably insightful. Fantastic acting, especially Josephson. I don't know what to say, really - I've never been married but there are certain scenes and lines and expressions and certain feelings and anxieties bubbling here that ring so true... It is a marvelously written, horribly depressing, beautiful and genuine film.

This is about everything one can imagine about a lifetime of faking feelings. I am not talking only about the marriage itself but about the feelings that a person can have and hide during the life and the will that every persons keeps behind their masks. A masterpiece from this genious Ingmar Bergman.

Acting is absolutely flawless. This movie nails the depiction of any relationship through the brilliant dialogue. It shows us two very level headed, intelligent people who go through what every couple must. The best part is there is very little shouting. Most of the debates between Johan and Marianne were two calm adults revealing feelings and fears that most people would bottle up. The level of honesty and openness can be hard to swallow but reveals how crazy true love really makes us.

Ingmar Bergman is a master at writing people as they really are, then directing the actors into giving powerful, realistic performances. I find the miniseries to be superior to the film, but both are excellent.

[TV/6hr edition] As this got deeper into breakdown territory, it seemed like Bergman was showcasing his own ideas about marriage. Call me traditional, but I'm not in favor of marriage with extra helpings on the side -- and I think the relationship would be severed with the fifth episode's violence. I really wanted to rate this as bang-average (oddly real and bizarrely implausible at the same time), but the acting was so raw and powerful that it does deserve better.

While I found the performances to be amazing and raw and I found the movie absorbing and even fascinating at times, these people in no way felt like real people, this felt like a play where the people in it are just espousers of concepts and ideas of the director.

good

Painful, searing and near unbearable portrait of the erosion and disintegration of a "happy" marriage - Josephson as the loathsome instigator gives the bravest, ugliest portrait of a vapidly narcissistic monster, with Ullmann doing her utmost to match him beat for beat as the more reactive member of the couple. Like watching a slow moving train wreck at times, but you still gain a complete insight into the full lives lived from both parties.

Essentially a teleplay, the performances captured with an unflinching eye over the course of this assortment of scenes in continuous time. The leads are visceral in their lived-in, controlled spontaneity of emotion. A few details in story and backstory occur without consequence or payoff, making it short of a masterpiece. Beautiful, monologue-heavy eulogy on love.

"biz duygusal açıdan çok cahiliz. bize anatomi, pretoria'daki tarım, hipotenüsün karesinin dik kenarların karelerinin toplamına eşit olduğu gibi her tür haltı öğrettiler. ama insan ruhuna ilişkin tek bir şey öğrenmedik.”

A masterpiece.

kotu bir film degil aslinda film degil yoruldugumla kaldim soylenmemesi gereken herseyi duydum

An amusing mother/child relationship that is very engaging until the last quarter or so where my belief and interest in the characters completely disappeared.

Wearing a mask certainly can be scary if invisible to its carrier, and if only detectable by inferring what others treat it as being.

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Exceptional acting and/or writing throughout. With only two characters it can be hard to get through the whole thing in one 3-hour sitting. But take any 30-minute segment and you get engrossed, it's just great film-making. People who marry will remain a mystery to me but Bergman seems to understand them pretty well.

1: 07 Gener 2015 - Interessant. Diàlegs densos que voldria escoltar a poc a poc; sembla que s'estigui parlant de temes importants. Agressivitat continguda, i també desfermada.

Having only seen the theatrical version.

Holds up as one of Bergman's best, working as an examination of both marriage in all its pros and cons as well as the human condition. Never once lost my attention over five hours and doesn't feel like a televised play, despite lengthy 40 minute scenes mostly involving the same two lead characters. This is mostly due to the strength of the acting and dialogue, but also brutal emotional honesty pouring from every moment.

A honest and unflinching portrayal of marriage in all it ups and down, that is at it best when focuses entirely on its two protagonists locked almost episode long scenes discussions. Both are purely flawed humans, and therefor immensely recognizable. Of course all this stands or falls with the acting, luckily Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson give what surely rank among their career best performances.

Incredibly well-acted (Ullman's unexplained and obvious accent notwithstanding) and relentless. Suffers, perhaps, a bit from being ripped off by everyone making a "social realist" divorce drama ever since.

It changed my outlook on relationships forever - though Johan seems to be set up by Bergman to be a jerk for him to bash.

The intimacy build by this couple had no ways of ending. It is a close look to a real marriage. With no frills.

A powerful portrait of a changing relationship. This film could be delved for truth for many years.

Impecabbly written and acted, sharply observant and achingly realistic, "Scener ur ett äktenskap" is an occasionally fascinating examination of a failing marriage. Although the relative lack of dramatic intensity (as opposed to another dialogue-driver Bergman chamber drama "Höstsonaten") and the overall monotony somewhat lessen the overall emotional impact, the film still packs a wallop merely thanks to the sheer authenticity of the conversations and situations it depicts.

#437

I was sadly not as impressed by this as I should have been. It was obviously incredibly well-written and acted, and Bergman perfectly achieves what he intended to do, but I just didn't really give much of a shit about the characters (particularly Johan). Basically, a brilliantly made film that does very little for me personally.

The biggest problem for me was that despite all these reviews claiming the characters are so relatable, they just weren't. Johan is a manchild who complains about everything, laying the blame for his own actions on others and then smacks his wife around. It seems like he's set up as a strawman so you can sympathize with Marianne, whose continued attraction to him I didn't understand. The performances are phenomenal but with these characters I wasn't sold on this as a masterpiece.

In Bergman's most straight-forward film, Scenes From a Marriage is a wonderfully honest narrative on the delicate nature of relationships. The two leads are flawless in their expression of love and brutality. Often cringe inducing, but always an absolute pleasure to watch.

Excellent film.

It's like watching some random family's home movies. Where's the soundtrack? How can this movie possibly sustain itself for nearly 3 hours with the most matter-of-fact, un-exhilarating dialogue? Maybe I have to be married to endure this borefest. Not trolling, I swear!

499

Depicts a failing relationship about as realistically as one could possibly hope for. By the end of this film I felt like I knew these two characters intimately. That's what Bergman does so well - tell stories about people that feel more like real life acquaintances than characters.

738

Svensk så det batter

This rating is for the TV miniseries version.

# 672

I have to admit, I've had the Criterion Collection edition sitting on my shelf unwatched for some three or four years now. And right now, Bergman's film seems shelted, isolated and less relevant to my life than something like Ron Howard's Parenthood. But I still maintain, that you need to see this before you die. I should certainly see it again so I can remember why I hold it in such high regard.

Rewatching for the first time in almost 2 decades, I had forgotten just how powerful the writing is here, not to mention the action. Liv Ullman is the superstar here, though Josephson carries himself more than ably. What I am most struck by now is how powerful a reflection this is on the boundedness of marriage--one can stray and a couple can divorce, but there's a powerful bond that remains, a deep truth about the reality of marriage. This is certainly brutal at moments, but well worth the time

Brutally honest like no other film I've seen. The characters say the devastating things we've all thought but never had the courage to utter, but at the same time they're both plausible and sympathetic (thanks to both the writing and the great performances of Josephson and Ullmann).

Mês especial do centenário de Ingmar Bergman filme #14 Deixei esse pra rever justamente no dia do seu centenários porque é um desbunde, um deslumbramento, um épico, uma obra-prima tão imensa que não fosse Persona seria a obra máxima do Bergman. Grandiosidade define. Coleção Versátil Ingmar Bergman Volume 6