Faithless

2000 [SWEDISH]

Action / Drama / Romance

8
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 85% · 73 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 85% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.4/10 10 3831 3.8K

adultery woman director

Plot summary

Scripted by Ingmar Bergman, this very personal film is about a destructive affair which wrecks the marriage of an actress (Marianne) and musician (Markus). Wanting to continue the affair, Marianne moves in with her lover. But she is tormented by Markus' decision not to let her have custody of their daughter. Finally Markus announces he may have a solution to the stalemate, but this leads to deception, lies and ultimately, tragedy.

Director

Liv Ullmann Photo
Liv Ullmann

Top cast

Marie Richardson Photo
Marie Richardson as Anna Berg
Lena Endre Photo
Lena Endre as Marianne
Gertrud Stenung Photo
Gertrud Stenung as Martha
Thérèse Brunnander Photo
Thérèse Brunnander as Petra Holst
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
1.38 GB
1280*692
Swedish 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 34 min
Seeds 3
2.84 GB
1920*1038
Swedish 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
2 hr 34 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by sunheadbowed 7 / 10

Faithless and hopeless.

'Trolösa' is the second film to be directed by Liv Ullmann that was written by Ingmar Bergman. That Bergman's DNA is all through the film is not a surprise: Ullmann was Bergman's dear friend, former lover and sometimes enemy, and her work -- and personal life -- will forever be linked with Bergman and his style; it's easy to believe that Ullmann learned all she knows about film-making from her years studying under one of the all-time greats. And she learned well, for she is a very fine director.Even by Bergman film standards, 'Trolösa' is bleak viewing. While so many of Bergman's films are about suffering and pain, there was rarely a feeling of absolute hopelessness at their core: the light shone through the darkness in moments of tenderness and beauty, especially in the eyes of his exceptional heroine actor-cum-martyrs, particularly Ullmann herself.There isn't any such redemption here, which features very strong acting from its three main characters (played by Lena Endr, Krister Henriksson and Thomas Hanzon) but no signs of warmth or hope to cling onto: all three are deeply unlikeable and selfish in their suffering. So much so, it's almost a relief when this long film ends and we're rid of them. It's hard not to feel for the actors because despite their talents this was a very tough script to transform into enjoyable viewing, and it largely fails in this regard.The only character that isn't unlikeable is played by the little girl, Isabelle (Michelle Gylemo), but unfortunately her character is so underwritten that she mostly plays the role of mute suffering in the background. And at the film's ending, after we learn that Marianne dies from drowning, we don't even get to find out what happens to the orphaned Isabelle -- her character is discarded like a prop, which, ironically, is how her parents treated her; yet we hear from dull David, who continues to feel sorry for himself, seemingly always finding new ways to be miserable.Considering what Isabelle went through (the messy dissolution of her parents' marriage and resulting instability, her mother and her new lover screaming at each other constantly, her father committing suicide and nearly taking her with him and finally her mother's death by drowning) she probably ended up in a loony bin.The most affecting and tender performance in the film is given by its best actor, the legendary Erland Josephson, star of countless Bergman films, playing an elderly Bergman wrestling with his demons and attempting to exorcise them the only way he knows how -- by writing films about them.
Reviewed by zetes 7 / 10

i was hoping it would be better

Faithless is a decent film. It is far too bad that I was expecting something more. As it stands, its acting is first-rate, the direction is fine, if unflourished (for some reason, audiences now frown upon any direction with flair), and the script is fine, although certainly it has been done before. The issues of infidelity in a marriage have been explored countless times in all media. This is not bad, and I definitely think it is not something that has been overdone by any means, but Faithless offers just a couple of really interesting moments in its 2.5 hour running time. Really, only Bergman fans should (and would, anyway) see it. And those fans should at least be familiar with Liv Ullmann's place in his films. Unfortunately, I have only seen three movies that she did with him, Persona being the best. I think I understood most of the subtext having seen Persona. 7/10

Reviewed by JamisonC 8 / 10

Excellent study of adultery.

What motivates these characters? This is a study of motivations but you have to pay attention. This is about the cycle of sin - the impact of our immorality on our relationships. I appreciated discovering the start of this cycle at the end of the film. Well directed, written, and played. Great metaphors. Recommended!

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