Saraband bares no resemblance to Scenes from a Marriage. Even after their marriage ended, Liv Ullmann's Marianne and Erland Josephson's Johan remained central to Scene from a Marriage. In Saraband, they feel displaced. They are like set pieces in a drama about a widowed father and his daughter. The story about the father and daughter is the only substance in the film. (Unfortunately, their acting ability is not as substantial as that of Ullmann and Josephson.) The only pretense for Marianne and Johan is the premise that the father is Johan's son, and the daughter Johan's granddaughter. Imagine an installment of the Ocean's franchise, let's call it Ocean's Fourteen, in which the original cast sit around enjoying their golden years while a younger group of unknown thieves plan a heist. The film is directed by Soderberg and resembles some of his early films, but bares little or no resemblance to the Ocean's franchise. I wouldn't excuse this indiscretion from Hollywood, why should I excuse it in any other context? Ingmar Bergman is one of my favourite directors, and Scenes from a Marriage is one of my favourite of his efforts. I wanted to enjoy Saraband, to appreciate his last effort. But I couldn't. To feign enjoyment would be a discredit to the master's early work.
