 | Unwatchable.
rating: 1
I knew people would give this five stars simply because it's Bergman and Bergman can do no wrong. I too love Bergman but this one goes beyond the pale and is sick, not to mention boring. There are no redeeming qualities about this film and the characters are simply the most unappetizing characters I can remember seeing on film. The only "good" person in the film was the poor child, Isabelle. The acting was great; that's about it.
It's a case of where the emperor has no clothes. Bergman lovers refuse to recognize this where Bergman is concerned. If this were his first film, I would never have seen another Bergman film.
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As in film, so in life...
rating: 5
Throughout his career, Bergman resisted ending his films with pat resolutions that tied up all loose ends. They almost always end ambiguously, darkly but with a hint of fragile hope.
In "Faithless," written by Bergman and directed by Liv Ullmann, this pattern continues. Confessional as are all his movies, "Faithless" is a merciless self-examination on Bergman's part of his numerous past infidelities and the pain they caused to both himself and others. In an astoundingly insightful move, Bergman structures the film as a memory. The aged dramatist (Erland Josephson) invokes his "muse," the memory of a past lover named Marianne (played by Lena Endre), and she retells the story of her adulterous involvement with the young dramatist (played by Krister Herriksson). The scenes switch between Lena speaking directly to the old dramatist in his study and dramatizations of the story Lena is telling--perhaps the play the old dramatist himself is writing (that's just how wonderfully multi-layered the script is).
Both the script and the acting are so powerful that the film--really more theatrical than cinema, one of Bergman's famous "chamber pieces"--at times is almost too painful to watch. Endre's range of emotions is astounding--giddy love, crushing guilt, maternal despair. Erland Josephson, the veteran Bergman ensemble actor, actually has very few lines. But his facial expressions as he listens to his muse communicate perfectly the character's guilt, nostalgia, and need to find some kind of closure on his past. Herriksson as the young dramatist is a pathetic neurotic who preys on women--as damning a self-portrait as Bergman ever wrote.
Ullmann's directing style is in the classic Bergman mode: focus on faces, long silences, spartan sets. And the film ends as it must: the old dramatist, after remembering and reliving the details of the past infidelity, is shown walking by himself on a solitary beach. Has he reached closure, or is he still haunted by the past? There's really no indication one way or the other, probably because the question offers too simple an either-or. Life is ambiguous.
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A MASTERWORK
rating: 5
A masterwork !!!, Liv Ullman has reached the level of the Master Bergman (and maybe suppered him...)
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Fantastic film, but DVD chapter titling a problem
rating: 5
This film is moving and gripped me from beginning to end. I have one major gripe however about the DVD. The chapter title of the last segment, which you can read on the DVD case and when you go to "menu" and "chapters" while watching, gives away a crucial plot point. It would be much better for this to remain a surprise.If you watch this film, keep your eyes averted from the case and the chapter titles until you've finished!
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Bergman last gift ?
rating: 5
On this movie,Lena Andre proves that she's on the same level of all swedish actress from the past;Greta Garbo,Ingrid Bergman,Ingrid Thulin,Bibi Anderson etc...) The screenplay by Bergamn is one of his best.Liv Ullmann is a great director.5 out of 5.
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