Original subtitles

In the midst of the nightmare of starting up this giant project...

even though it's very simple, four actors with ten monologues, no dialogues...

plus a prologue and an epilogue.

Il looks simple on paper, but let me tell you...

it will be extremely rigorous.

I demand the same thing of others as I do of myself: the absolute best.

It's quite fascinating that as my last...

Knowing that "this is the last time I put myself through this"...

you set all other considerations aside. You have only one loyalty:

To the work itself.

This is never going to work! But it smells like soil.

DIRECTED BY BERGMAN

- Erland, can your hear me? - Yes.

Okay, strut your stuff. Look right into the camera.

Then turn your head slightly to the right.

Then do the same to the left. Now zoom in...

What the hell is that thing hanging there? A price tag?

- The zipper. - Get rid of it.

Pull in a little closer, there's too much space. Slowly...

Now it's out of focus. Stop! Look into the camera.

- Ok, great! - Just a second. - I want to talk to you.

These are all the clothes in Saraband.

Ingmar absolutely wanted this coat to be burgundy. It was his vision.

The colour scale here is very much Ingmar, at least in his recent works.

He gives very clear directives.

I don't let my creativity run wild; I have to adapt, which is also fun.

I also think it's wonderful working with someone who's 84...

and is still very active. (It provides a force. I like when people are getting on with their lives.)

The degree of detail orientation he puts into his work is inspiring.

- What does it say? - "To Marianne..."

"in memory of our conversation in the church. Your friend Henrik."

- "In memory..." - Hang on!

- "our conversation in..." - "the church..."

And a date... No, this film is going to run for a hell of a long time.

This is perfect.

When you say "lonely", it's hard to hear.

You're hard of hearing.

Sorry, I'm just kidding!

I have partial hearing in this ear...

but I have the hearing of a child in this ear...

which I think I've proven. (Which has worked well so far.)

I asked if he was all right, and she said yes, as far as she could see...

and that he'd write.

Cut! That's great.

This is the first shot, right here.

And I want something... something good here...

- Maybe some bread and cheese? - That's a great idea!

You two sit with your heads together and toast.

And you're a little...

And you say...

- Were you really married to granddad? - Is that so strange?

I'm having a hard time imagining it.

When she says: "Do you think..."

- "What if grandfather and Miss Nilsson comes home?" - That's your cue.

I don't think there's anything to add.

- You mean that my grandfather... - ...was a full fledged liar.

- I remarried a boring man. - This is going too fast.

- Your granfather is a full-fledged liar. - And take a drink.

That was fun!

Should we do a preliminary staging?

But then we'll need to put in walls.

- At least that wall. That'll take a long time, right? - Ten minutes.

Let's run through it slowly. Come here... run... that's it...

- You're not leaving! - Stand still now...

That's it... that's it... now... slowly.

And you sink out of the picture. Like that.

That's it. You're on camera now.

Then we hear a hell of a crash...

Hit him in the face. That's it.

And now slowly down. That's it.

And now... crash!

Now go!

- Ready! - The tape is rolling. Slate out.

Azione!

You're not leaving!

Now!

Cut!

That's so interesting, Alf Sjoberg taught me that.

It was on the first film I wrote, "Hets".

Sjoberg said to me: "Remember this, Bergman. What is half-hidden..."

"is far more suggestive, more seductive, more exciting..."

"than what is fully visible."

I think it has to be like this.

Am I in the right position now? Then this is it.

Like this. And then like this...

I had...

I had a... I do not know...

- It's too high. - That's why it's such a bitch.

I want him to lie with one arm over it, like this.

- So it shouldn't be higher than this. - Let's start by taking off...

fifteen centimetres and see how it looks. It's best to start small.

- Another brilliant Wassberg idea. - Let me help you.

- These parts were written for you. - How did you know me?

I saw you in something called "Glap" or something.

"Glappet".

And now it's over.

- Now you... - Wait, let me get over here.

It has to stop.

And now it's over.

Can we... maybe we can... No, this is good. Straight from behind.

And then you say...

At least give it the perfect ending.

- What do you mean? - Play the fifth sarabande.

- Now? Right now? - Yes, thank you.

Say "If you can".

Play the fifth sarabande, if you can.

- Now? Right now? - Yes, thank you.

Let's do this now...

(Wait now) Let me see...

No, wait, let me see...

what do we do first... Do the scene again.

At least give it the perfect ending.

What do you mean?

Stand up.

Play the fifth sarabande, if you can.

- Now? - Now?

- Now? Right now? - Yes, thank you.

- Yes, thank you. - Yes, thank you.

Hi, Ingmar. We're almost ready. I thought you might have a phone call with Julia.

It's too summer green. When Julia passes by, it's supposed to be autumn.

That's what's fun about working with Ingmar, or with film and theatre.

You see the overall concept that the director and writer have created...

and also the details, painting autumn leaves, placing mushrooms...

choosing colours, everything.

The mood and so on. I thought you could talk to her about that.

- Here it is for you. - Hi.

You have one shot of her running... and here's another, in the swamp.

There's not much to compare with. Maybe we can look at it in daylight.

How about if we do this...

You have the camera relatively high and the picture is empty.

And then she comes (falls from above) rolling in at breakneck speed into the frame.

Downhill.

That's okay, but it would be better if you landed the other way.

When you get here,

you have to control the direction.

There... like that.

Let me show you the difference.

The first time, you went a little too straight.

- I want your legs to go that way. - Got it.

- Okay. - Okay.

We will adjust daylight in the church, so it feels like a cloudy day.

Don't put the plaster upside down. You need two people up there.

- I don't hear him coming... - Yes, you do.

Can we hear the first bars of the music?

From the top.

From the top.

This is incredibly beautiful. I have to say.

I'm glad. It looks nice.

If you'll allow me to get personal... I used to be quite...

pleased with my perception of death.

I had an operation, once...

and they accidentally gave me too much anaesthesia.

They couldn't wake me for eight hours.

It's so strange that those eight hours just vanished from my life.

they do not exist.

Up to then I had always had such a terror of death.

That's what The Seventh Seal was about.

So that was a relief...

But when my wife Ingrid died, that became problematic horribly problematic.

Because I thought, "I'll never see her again, if that's what death is."

Erland and I talked on the phone on Saturday and I told him this.

I feel I have to tell you this, because this is the key.

It's the core of this... text.

I explained my dilemma to Erland.

I liked to think death was absolute... just a transition from something to nothing.

But there's a complication.

What will I do if I can never see Ingrid again? I can't imagine it.

And Erland said: "What do you really want?"

And I said, "I want to see Ingrid."

And then he said, very wisely: "Then hold on to that."

That's one of the most valuable pieces of advice I've ever had.

Imagine, we've... all of humanity has thought endlessly about death.

Since the beginning of time, not knowing.

And to think that it's so amazingly simple.

She's walking towards me.

Anna is walking towards me, by the gate.

- And then I realise that I'm dead. - Say it with surprise.

Then I realise that I'm dead.

And then the strangest thing happens. I think: "Is it this easy?"

We spend our whole lives wondering about death and what comes after.

Pause there.

And then it's... this easy.

In music I can get a glimmering.

And then you disconnect and turn to her:

- Is it this simple? - Is it this simple?

- Is it this easy? - "Is it this easy?"

Ready, go up,

and take your time.

Just like last time.

Don't stand up right there. Can you...

When you end up by the log, put your hand on it and go out into the water.

Over the log. That's it. That's it.

Follow along with her as much as you can, Raye.

Stop there, and you're done.

You too. She goes off-camera.

Wait, like this. You stop in the water.

Like that. Face this way. And give a bloodcurdling scream.

He always listens to his heart when he directs. He has to.

And he asks his actors to do the same. At the same time he divides up the text...

Very logically, into many small parts.

When you have that structure,

then you can... you can...

There's a flow in the text. He divides it up to give it flow.

I hope I can learn that.

That's the thing. (That's how to say that.)

What's that for?

We'll get rid of that.

Let's go have a cup of coffee.

- I'm trying to... - I think it's hell being watched.

I'm setting up for today's scene.

This is how I've pictured it.

According to Ingmar's instructions.

But they can change, too.

You never know if, for example, the whiskey glass...

if we'll use these nice glasses I picked out.

Ingmar might decide, "No, I want a regular drinking glass."

So I have them on hand.

I have to set up this wall and counter again.

He's very picky about the props.

He's very picky about everything.

We'll use this later.

I've divided up this scene into two parts.

First, they're sitting opposite each other.

And later, when they get to know each other, they sit side by side.

They're done with the mushroom.

The mushrooms can still be here, all cleaned.

But they sit here...

drinking wine. A red wine. Italian. Bardolino Classico.

- You want a bottle? - Not one of those bloody boxes (damn cardboard)!

A bottle. And I get a commission on that, so let people see it.

We'll take care of that.

Don't use a burr.

- And then you get up. - And I go out.

And you go for a walk...

There I sat with my mushy brain...

- Do we have a record we can play? - Yes, several.

Fantastic! Come on, let's go listen to them!

Cut!

Now comes Kerstin comes and talks about how it was.

That's it. Stand exactly there.

Ready!

Pull back just a little. "How old are you?"

- No, I'm 63. - Really? That old?

They have taken my ovaries and uterus.

- Does that make you sad? - Yes, sometimes.

My suggestion, Ingmar, is that I straighten it out earlier.

Earlier in the scene, once we sit down the rest. Should I?

Do as you like. It doesn't matter to me.

You can come here and stand in the window!

There's a glare on the metal here.

Do you want more light on her face?

We'll fix that later.

- When you slide down like that... - Should I put my hands here?

Are you sure now?

It's like this... it's like this...

It's like this, when you're a director and have to make decisions.

You think...

You think, you think:

"We have all the equipment, we can try another take."

But this had a quality...

that spoke to me. You see?

It didn't matter, there were little technical things.

But I don't care.

This business of retaking a scene over and over to get it perfect...

I don't know, but I think it's a waste of emotion.

That's not good.

But if you think it would be fun to do it again, we'll do it.

That's a tough choice!

But I felt... Otherwise I wouldn't have said it was good.

It was spon... you know that.

I always say right away what I felt. I never hesitate on that.

- Then I trust you. - How nice of you!

He's so alive. He's not just there to do the lines.

He's there to lighten the mood, to talk through difficult scenes.

We try to have a little fun between scenes.

He takes care of you with his words and actions.

Erland!

Come here, sweetie.

Sweet little Julia.

Stand here now. Where do you want him, dammit?

Erland can stand close to her.

Just a hair to his right. There.

Let's just change this...

Is the storm ready?

Ready for the band music to start.

The tape is rolling. Slate out.

Music!

- Karin! - Hello, grandfather.

It would be really good if you could take it even slower.

Then I'll do it.

If you think it's fun. Otherwise, this is good.

- I'd like to do it again. - Okay.

- How about you? - Gladly.

- She wants to do it again. - Sure, all she has to do is nod.

I quit when I read a biography of Freud.

He had 33 operations in his dentures.

Oh, sorry.

- He still couldn't give up cigars. - But you're all right?

Yes...

- You wanted to speak to me? - I did.

Cut! Good.

Fantastic! Wonderfully! Both of you.

- Mostly her. - Mostly you.

No, mostly both of you.

So we arrange the fall so...

It's bloody perfect that we have time... after the coffee break!

- He needs to have a little slit there. - A little slit...

He needs a slit.

- Why should he have a slit? - No, not there! On the side!

- At the seam? - A little slit here.

- Why? - It goes with the look.

- For the camera to see. - Is it good? - Perfect! And one on the other side.

How cute you are, Erland.

- There was no... - No, the lamp should be on.

Action!

- Perfect. Spotlight six and... - Whatever it was...

- Nine. - Was it nine?

- Don't you think it was good? - Thank you! That was an achievement.

It was a performance.

Let's see when he passes by...

I have thought a lot about this...

I want Raye to stand like this, to get everything over here.

Then we'll put back everything that was pulled forward today.

So we follow him to the podium (desk) and we have them...

The camera is down low, right?

And... they start the dialogue.

When he goes out to get the book.

We go... Can you go? And the camera is standing here.

That's also Raye's shot.

That's also Raye's shot. And the camera is here. But then, see...

You turn like this, and you shoot the book...

Hold it a little higher, so we can... that's right.

Then you pan over to him where he's standing there talking. Right?

And... then...

Shit, maybe we should...

No, that would be fuzzy. No, you pan over to him.

Then you go back...

and shoot him as he comes back and sits down.

There was a thing I was going to do.

What you see is just this.

The wall are going to be in place, so we'll stand.

Come here. I don't know which one of you will have the camera.

You can fit it in properly. I want a fairly wide angle.

I want to do a visual effect and move the podium (desk) even farther away.

- Ingmar, when do you need the bookshelf? - Now!

We can't start without it! I'm just kidding. There's no hurry.

- We can build one in a half-hour. - Can't we straighten out the wall...

- And take one from the den? - That's the easiest thing.

- Should we do that now? - Yes. - Okay.

Wait... Should we wait until you're done? It's better that we wait.

The scenery helps the actors.

If they're good and solid, your body follows along without resistance.

You can free up your emotions... intellectually...

using things like placement, where you're going and why.

Why you should be sitting here and not standing over there.

You don't have to force your mind, body and muscle.

And can release other spiritual forces.

If we're going to build a hospital here and it has a vestibule...

this part is easy to tear down and have open space.

Ingmar Bergman says we have to do this the last week, so this part is a problem.

- Isn't it better to tear this down? - Absolutely.

Otherwise we'd have to repaint the doors. Especially if they stand here.

A hell of a complication. Can we tone down the lights here?

- I'll fix it. - Are you there?

- The electrician is lying down there. - What? There he is!

- We're getting full light anyway. - Then I'll use a double filter.

It's fun making her stand there...

- Is that better? - Much better!

Ready for strapping.

- Ingmar, you can stay here while I... - I'll do that!

Music!

Cut!

Good. Here's what we're going to do...

That's it.

Well... I hope I'm not disturbing you?

No, you live here!

Remember: the first shot is from that direction.

Oh, one thing, Kerstin!

Remember one thing: When we're done for the day, we're not done at all.

I feel like this is a "secret" film.

A huge part of the script takes place in Ingmar's head, as I see it.

I thnk that much of what will come of it is things we don't even know.

I'm often surprised by a scene or image he chooses, and I wonder...

And I think that this film lives to a large degree in Ingmar's head...

and it will be in the editing that we finally realise...

exactly what he wants to say with it, even if we have our ideas.

This big picture won't come clear, even to us, until it's relesed.

- What do you think? - I think you put it very well.

Let's go.

- Let's pull back a little. - You want a wider angle?

Ready... Action.

The hours we spend together should be vital.

The people who trustingly come to work with me...

My only goal (ambition) is that the hours we spend together are vital.

They should feel that this isn't fruitless.

It's so easy, in this profession...

to feel that what you're doing is meaningless.

That's it's just a bunch of hassle. That it's monotonous.

So it's very important to me...

that the actors feel that what we're doing is meaningful.

Cut!

Now that I'm putting this film to bed...

The rough edit was hell.

Now I'm polishing it and now...

the film is distancing itself, becoming it's own personality.

It's becoming less mine and more a separate entity.

It's distancing itself from me.

First it takes a few halting steps, then it gets up and walks away.

Then other people take care of it, and other people watch it...

You know, I rarely watch my own films.

It's...

They're out of my life.

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