After the 1970s, the theme of Ingmar Bergman's films gradually changed from "Why God is silent" to the difficult relationship between relatives. His films are no longer as obscure as many of the previous ones, and are closer to real life. And "Marriage Life", a TV series filmed in 1973 that increased Sweden's divorce rate by 50%, is Bergman's profound analysis of marriage.
In the beginning, I would like to talk about my views on marriage. I've always thought that if all lovers truly love each other, then there is obviously no need for marriage. So marriage is a manifestation of mutual distrust and hypocrisy, and it is also a responsibility that binds both parties.
So what marriage can bring us, and whether we should marry the person we love, "Marriage Life" gives us some answers to some extent.
Marianne and Joann are a couple who have been married for 10 years, live comfortably and have two daughters. Joanne is an insecure person who always seeks security in every way possible. Marianne is a person who is satisfied with the way her life is, she just wants to keep it that way. The same is that both people try their best to play their elected roles in the marriage and maintain this seemingly stable marriage.
One day, friends Katrina and Pete came to visit them at their home. Katrina and Pete are also a couple who have been married for many years, but the sweetness of the marriage has disappeared with time between them, leaving only the sarcasm and resentment towards each other. Marianne developed a sense of unease in their unhappy marriage, and she couldn't help but worry about her own. She tried to find out why their marriage would fail, to prove that her marriage did not fail like theirs. She told Joan about the various reasons for their failed marriage, but Joan kept denying it. Joann's denial made her even more uneasy about her marriage, so she would need Joann's intimacy to ease her inner unease.
Marianne told Joan that she was pregnant. Joan was not enthusiastic about it. He was more inclined to not want the child, but it was an indifferent feeling. Although Joan and Marianne are married, he is indifferent to what happens in the family. Joan is a person of self, his world can't hold anyone except him, and his sense of responsibility for the family gradually dissipates over time, which can be directly seen from the dialogue between the two in the fifth episode. Although Marianne had been looking forward to having another child, Joann's indifference and her own unease made it impossible for her to guarantee enough love for the child, and they finally gave up the child. For Joan, this was just an indifferent decision. For Marianne, it was more of a compromise on marriage. Because of the existence of marriage, it is necessary to weigh each other and judge each other, which makes her unable to completely follow her personal will. And Marianne, who lost her child, couldn't get Joan's heartfelt care, she could only cry alone to vent the unbearable pain. Marriage here does not enable two people to embrace each other more closely, but is a compromise and a bondage.
Marianne, a divorce attorney, is approached by an elderly man for help trying to get a divorce. This old man who has been married for 20 years has never really loved her husband and her children. She wants to experience the taste of love as much as possible at the end of her life. But the old man's marriage is happy. In the past 20 years, she and her husband didn't quarrel too much, and most of them lived in harmony. She also fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother and raised her children seriously. It can be seen that marriage and love are not the same, a happy marriage does not mean the existence of love, it is a gradual acceptance of life and a responsibility. Marriage is not a game of two people who love each other, but more like an agreement signed by two people. This caused Marianne to have another concern about her marriage, and the day-to-day life gradually made everything boring, so Marianne tried to make the marriage of the two people more fun. She proposed to travel with Joan, but Joan was not excited, only puzzled by this sudden move. Long, day-to-day marriages have worn away all the expectations of many people for married life, and it is difficult for them to get excited from it.
Then began the third episode, Marianne and Joanne's seemingly harmonious and undisturbed marriage has since broken down irreparably.
Joanne suddenly announces to Marianne that she is in love with a woman named Paula, and their ten-year marriage breaks down completely. Marianne forcibly asked Joann about the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage, and Joann began to tell Marianne candidly about the unbearable pain that marriage life had caused him. The hypocritical cover-up gradually dissipated, and the marriage brought Joan no longer the love for her partner, but an uncontrollable hatred. Two people in love can't help but be deeply attracted by the advantages of both parties, so people often fall in love with their own imaginary phantoms. Then, after getting married, the time spent with each other infinitely magnifies each other's shortcomings. What marriage needs more is mutual tolerance and the hypocrisy of both parties. And the accumulation of too much tolerance and cover-up may overwhelm the entire marriage at an unexpected moment. It is always said that marriage is a ritual that integrates two people into one, which can make people less lonely in this world. But the marriage life full of cover-up and tolerance hinders the communication between the hearts of both parties, which makes both parties fall into a more lonely situation. Joan was swallowed by a more serious loneliness, and the marriage tore his perception of life. So Joan will choose to cheat to fill her unsatisfied desire. Marianne is a person who is immersed in the lies of marriage. She has been trying her best to play her role in the marriage, just want to maintain this lingering marriage that has no passion. Facing Joan who insisted on leaving, Marianne went from pretending to be calm to trying her best to keep her to a complete breakdown and then to a more powerless and humble retention. Every change in Marianne's behavior is depicted with extreme precision, while Liv Uman's delicate performance makes a strong emotional expression for the whole scene. At this time, Joan escaped from the marriage with a relieved state of mind, while Marianne was tightly bound by the marriage, unable to bear the pain caused by this broken marriage.
Over time (many years later), Marianne and Joanne prepared to sign divorce papers. After the two sides meet again, they miss each other more, and the distance between the two seems to have eliminated their boredom and hatred for each other. Marianne and Joanne both know that they still love each other in their hearts, but their marriage is destined to never be repaired. Some people can fall in love, but they are not suitable for marriage. When they met again, both parties were at first disguised, but with the effect of alcohol, they revealed their hearts again. Joanne begins to tire of being with Paula and fantasizes about being able to start over with Marianne. But Marianne learned to live independently in Joann's absence. The status of the two people thus completed a dramatic transition from the previous one. When Marian wanted to make amends, Joan ignored it; and when Joan wanted to make amends, Marian gave up on it. The marriage of the two was doomed to doom. Long, cookie-cutter marriages can be boring, and some people struggle to get out of it in order to find true love. But at that time, under the catalysis of time, the real feelings will gradually become as boring as the previous marriage. It wasn't that Joanne found out that she liked Marianne more than Paula. He always liked himself the most. He hasn't changed in the slightest, and everything he does is just for himself. Marianne also knew that even if the two of them came back, it would only bring about a hopelessly tragic reincarnation, so she gave up the marriage.
By the last episode, both of them married other people and started new families. After many years, they decided to have a secret date, and the meeting again made both parties extremely excited and intimate. They confided to each other about their dissatisfaction with their new marriage, assuming that their broken marriage had any hope of improving in the first place, even if it was irreversible. In the end, they stopped all the words and lay down together embracing each other. The marriage caused Marianne and Joanne to drift apart, and their relationship gradually dissipated. After the relationship broke down completely, the two felt the deep love from both sides again in the estranged distance. Some people are suitable for falling in love but not suitable for marriage. The proximity of distance does not necessarily bring about emotional proximity.
Marianne asked her mother what her mother and father's marriage was like. The mother said their marriage was often accompanied by silence, and they never faced each other frankly. This avoids a lot of problems, so that the marriage can continue. Marianne also confessed to Joan that she had been living in the lie of marriage. And once the lie is pierced, the relationship between the two sides will collapse instantly. Marriage requires lies, and lies allow marriage to continue in a beautiful fantasy.
"Marriage Life" takes 5 hours to gradually show us the emotional changes of a couple and the desires buried deep in their hearts, and deeply analyze the interior of marriage. The essence of marriage is a kind of hypocrisy and restraint of distrust. You must first accept and affirm its essence before you can spend your marriage better.
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