Liv & Ingmar

I think this documentary's worth watching just to see some brief behind-the-scenes footage from the set of Cries and Whispers. It's silent, and shows all the leads sitting together and bouncing up and down, probably singing, all smiling and having fun while making the most miserable and least fun film Bergman ever made.

Otherwise, this is just an okay documentary. Liv Ullmann is a good central subject and interesting to listen to, but the filmmaking around her, to dramatise her story, is a bit lacking. There are minor attempts to parallel the turmoil of their romantic/working relationship with the turmoil Bergman's films at the time dealt with, but it's pretty superficial stuff. It seems like the documentary wasn't lacking when it came to access to Bergman's filmography, so that was a bit disappointing.

Ullmann is also very forgiving of Ingmar Bergman, which surprised me, because some of the ways he behaved seemed insufferable. I guess times have changed with the leeway we give those who could be deemed tortured geniuses, particularly when they bring other people into their circle with all the wild ups and downs that entails. It's one thing to be tortured alone, and another thing altogether when there's friendly fire.

That's kind of the portrait one gets here. But I'm glad Ullmann persevered, had her career survive post-Bergman, and got to tell her story. She's honestly probably a better actress than Bergman was a filmmaker, so she was a little too good for him on two fronts (flippancy aside, he was still a very good filmmaker. I don't like Cries and Whispers though- bam, review's come full circle).

Alfred Lord Tennyson, in his poem In Memoriam said, "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Norwegian actress and director, Liv Ullmann, however, may take issue with that. Her thoughts about love and the painful loss of her relationship with acclaimed Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman are candidly revealed in the Norwegian documentary Liv & Ingmar. Directed by Dheeraj Akolkar and narrated by Ms. Ullmann who is now 73, the film spans the period from their initial meeting in 1964 when she was 25 and he was 47 to her eventual move to Hollywood and the Broadway stage.

Her granting of an interview with Akolkar was conducted in Bergman's house on the remote Faro Island in Sweden where they lived together for five years and bore a daughter, Linn. Exquisitely photographed by cinematographer Halvard Braein, the interview was strictly limited to two days at Liv's request. Separated into chapters entitled "Love," "Pain," "Loneliness," "Anger," Friendship" and "Rage," the film provides a glimpse into the high and low points of their life together, and she does not hold back on her memories of its hurt and pain. Interspersed with the interview are clips from her work in several of Bergmann's classic films including Persona, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, and The Passion of Anna.

Interestingly, the excerpts from the films seem to mirror events that occurred in their lives at the time of filming such as the monologues from The Hour of the Wolf and the turmoil expressed in Scenes from a Marriage. In addition to the film clips are backstage photos, readings from Ms. Ullmann's autobiography, Changing (1977), her letters to Bergman, his private letters to her, and excerpts from Bergman's memoir, "The Magic Lantern," read by Swedish actor Samuel Fröler.

As expected, Liv becomes very emotional when talking about Bergman and her eyes take on an inner glow when she recalls the moments she shared with him both as an actress, a lover, and a close friend. In addition to her experience of his great love, respect and understanding, however, according to Liv, there was a side to Bergman's personality that was less pleasant. Though she now recalls it with humor, she relates how he was capable of extreme jealousy and a vengeance that once exposed her and Max von Sydow to unbearable cold while making a film. Unfortunately, Mr. Bergman was not present to tell his version of the events, which may, in fact, have been very different.

Though the ardor of their love eventually cooled (they were both married at the time), their working relationship and ultimate close friendship lasted for forty two years. While the documentary can be a moving experience, its 83-minute length cannot help but skim the surface of many aspects of their life and career. Not mentioned are Bergman's five marriages and nine children, how Liv viewed Bergman's revelation of his youthful support of the Nazi cause, and the impact of his 1976 arrest on tax evasion that led to his nervous breakdown. There is also too little discussion of his talent as a director and the qualities in her eyes that made his films so masterful.

Regardless of its limitations, however, Liv & Ingmar is an absorbing and often poetic depiction of the love of two very different people who were able to transcend their own barriers and leave a legacy on film that was greater and perhaps more universal because of their relationship. Indispensable for admirers of their work, my hope is that this film may cause the Motion Picture Academy to finally recognize Liv Ullmann's talent

This documentary covers the intimate relationship between two members of one of the greatest movie collaborations in film history: Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann and Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Their connection lasted forty-two years until Bergman's death in 2007. They had also been romantically involved for six of those years. The film is a co-production of Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Much of the film is narrated (in English) by Ullmann who was in her early seventies at the time. The references to the relationship is interjected with some of the Bergman/Ullmann films (in Swedish) in which it is apparent that the male actors were playing as a stand-in for Bergman.

Together, these two great artists made twelve movies together most of which were made during that magnificent period that began in the mid-1960s and continued through the 1970s. Their best works included "Cries and Whispers", "Scenes from a Marriage", "Face to Face", and "Persona". Calling these movies "art films" is definitely a compliment rather than an insult (as it is for many other cases).

Director Dheeraj Akolkar blends everything in this documentary beautifully: the old film clips, the use of music, using beautiful scenery of locations that reflect the past relationship, and mostly that of Ullmann herself as narrator and subject.

It's very challenging for one speaker to hold an audience's attention for so long. But Ullmann's soulfulness shows as much as a narrator and interviewee as it did during her great acting career. Her honest reflections on the various stages of a volatile relationship are riveting.

World Cinema has seen its fair share of long-term director and actor pairings, from Kurosawa/Mifune to Fellini/Mastroianni to Scorsese/DeNiro. (Please don't put Scorsese/DiCaprio in the same list.) Rare has been the director/actress pairing, but there have been a few - Marlene Dietrich and Joseph Von Sternberg to go way back, or Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz to be a bit more current. Perhaps the most celebrated director/actress teaming was Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann, and the new documentary "Liv & Ingmar" tells the story of this artistic and personal collaboration.

And what a story it is, as told by Ullmann herself. The film is built around an interview conducted with Ullman at the gorgeous seaside estate she shared with Bergman for five years. From their first meeting when she was 26 and he was 47, through their five year relationship (and the birth of a child) and their continuing professional collaborations, Ullmann allows us a personal glimpse into the man responsible for such classics as "The Seventh Seal" and "Cries & Whispers".

Sometimes it is not a pretty picture, and credit should go to Ullmann for giving us a "warts and all" look at their relationship. Granted, it is a one-sided presentation (Bergman died in 2007) which uses Ullmann's autobiography as its main source, but one can't help but feel Ullmann is being honest, particularly when one looks at Bergman's work. The film is even broken down into "Bergman-esque" chapters, with intertitles such as "Love", "Loneliness", "Rage", and "Pain" to highlight the subject matter.

"Cold", "aloof", and "cruel" are terms often used when discussing the work of Ingmar Bergman, particularly his male characters. His female characters were far more open and emotionally expressive, especially with their sexuality. One leaves this film feeling that a great deal of Bergman's work was autobiographical. The film is populated with clips from their films, and one gets the sense that Ullmann was often playing Ullman, while actors like Max Von Sydow took the "Bergman" role.

But there was real love in this partnership as well. Evidence of Bergman's humanity and affection come from the reading of several pieces of personal correspondence that Ullmann shared with writer/director Dheeraj Akolkar which are effectively narrated, as well as excerpts from Bergman's autobiography. Most telling is Bergman's comment to Ullmann that he considers her "his Stradivarius" - the beautiful, perfect instrument through which he communicates and makes beautiful music.

But make no mistake about it, this is Ullmann's tale to tell. It is a tale told well.

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Loved this film this evening at Vancouver International Film Festival, while my partner says it's okay, he wouldn't mind if he hadn't seen it. What planet are (emotionally repressed) men from? Please don't say Mars— Martians would be more moved than he was by this gem of a documentary.

A different film than I was expecting: I didn't know anything about Ullman and Bergman's personal past, and was expecting something more focused on their long (almost 50 years) of collaboration in making extraordinary films. This was only partly about their shared film history together and dwelt more on their relationship, the account rendered extraordinary by Ullman's candour and towering spirit. I would look for more films from this director, though, without another such woman of character, as comfortable before the camera as Ullman, could such touching and real stuff be served up? But the film's capture has warmth and sparkle, like that old song that asks if we want to carry moonbeams home in a jar—an apt metaphor, I think, for the trick which the most artful films pull off.

Just as Bergman has bewitched and bedevilled us with his films, one's jaw drops hearing what he was like as a lover and husband in her words—both dreadful and also Ullman's gloriously prized treasure of a human connection, delivered to us in lovely to watch and listen to footage. Bravo.