FACE TO FACE Movie Review

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Successful psychiatrist Dr. Jenny Isaksson (Liv Ullmann) makes a trip to her family home, and soon thereafter finds herself in the grip of a full-blown mental collapse. Neither her husband, also a psychiatrist, nor her lover is able to help her; but after a long tortuous journey (which includes a suicide attempt) and the help of another doctor who cares enormously about her (Erland Josephson), Jenny is ready to look her crippling anxieties in the eye. With the doctor's help, many of the mysteries of her past are revealed, but overcoming the emotional paralysis they've left her with will be a lifetime struggle. Face to Face is not an easy ride, even in the abridged 136 minute American version, which was trimmed by the director from the original four-hour Swedish TV presentation. If you have misgivings about Bergman in the first place, Face to Face will only reinforce them. Yet despite patches of dialogue that read like self-parody (would you like to hear yourself in therapy?), there's a bracing power in seeing Jenny through to her tenuous victory over demons. It may not be everyone's first choice for an evening's light entertainment, but there may be a day—you'll know it when you get there—when it will be just the ticket. Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Actress.

NEXT STOP … Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, Autumn Sonata

1976 136m/C SW Liv Ullmann, Erland Josephson, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Aino Taube-Henrikson, Sven Lindberg, Kary Sylway, Sif Ruud; D: Ingmar Bergman; W: Ingmar Bergman; C: Sven Nykvist. Golden Globe Awards '77: Best Foreign Film; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards '76: Best Actress (Ullmann), Best Foreign Film; National Board of Review Awards '76: Best Actress (Ullmann); New York Film Critics Awards '76: Best Actress (Ullmann); Nominations: Academy Awards '76: Best Actress (Ullmann), Best Director (Bergman). VHS PAR