Scenes from a Marriage (TV Mini Series)
Oskuld och panik (1973)
Liv Ullmann: Marianne
Photos
Quotes
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Marianne : Do you think it's possible two people can spend their entire lives together?
Johan : That's just an insane convention we inherited from God knows where. There should be five-year contracts. Or an agreement that remains valid for one year that you can also terminate.
Marianne : For us, too?
Johan : No, not for us.
Marianne : Why not for us?
Johan : Because you and I are the exception to the rule. You and I won the Fools' Lottery.
Marianne : So you think we'll stay together our entire lives?
Johan : What a strange question!
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Fru Palm, journalist : It's so nice to see that you and Johan get along so well. You are truly happy, aren't you? Everything you say sounds so wonderful. But then again, someone should be entitled to a perfect life.
Marianne : I don't know about perfect, but we're fortunate. We're happy.
Fru Palm, journalist : Could you define the word "happiness"?
Marianne : Do I have to? It's a women's magazine. You have to. If I said anything about happiness, Johan would make fun of me. No, I can't. You'll have to make something up. Don't be evasive. Happiness is contentment. There's nothing I really long for. I want things to stay just the way they are. What about fidelity? Really, now. Come on, help me flesh this out. Johan's a dear, but nothing much is said while he's around. Fidelity. Yes, fidelity. In a loving relationship. What should I say? In your line of work you must have come across - My personal belief is that fidelity needs to be a given. It can't be an obligation or a rule. You can't promise fidelity. Either you're faithful or you aren't. I'm faithful to Johan simply because I enjoy being faithful. I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow or next week.
Fru Palm, journalist : It's a women's magazine. You have to.
Marianne : If I said anything about happiness, Johan would make fun of me. No, I can't. You'll have to make something up.
Fru Palm, journalist : Don't be evasive.
Marianne : Happiness is contentment. There's nothing I really long for. I want things to stay just the way they are.
Fru Palm, journalist : What about fidelity?
Marianne : Really, now.
Fru Palm, journalist : Come on, help me flesh this out. Johan's a dear, but nothing much is said while he's around.
Marianne : Fidelity.
Fru Palm, journalist : Yes, fidelity. In a loving relationship.
Marianne : What should I say?
Fru Palm, journalist : In your line of work you must have come across...
Marianne : My personal belief is that fidelity needs to be a given. It can't be an obligation or a rule. You can't promise fidelity. Either you're faithful or you aren't. I'm faithful to Johan simply because I enjoy being faithful. I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow or next week.
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Johan : You can't judge yourself for your thoughts.
Marianne : This is a serious matter. It will influence our future. What if we do something we can't take back? What if we haven't realized how serious this is?
Johan : What ridiculous, nebulous, intangible demands. They're pure superstition.
Marianne : You don't understand.
Johan : Not one damn word makes sense.
Marianne : We're trying to run away.
Johan : We're trying to avoid drama here, which is healthy, in my opinion.
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Johan : What's the issue here?
Marianne : The issue is love.
Johan : Aren't you being a bit too intense?
Marianne : No.
Johan : Could you enlighten me?
Marianne : No, I can't. It's an emotional thing. It's as if I no longer perceived myself as being real. You aren't real either. Neither are the kids. But this baby is real.
Johan : It could be the other way around.
Marianne : We're pitiful, self-indulgent cowards that can't connect with reality and are ashamed of ourselves. There's no affection, love or joy in our lives. We could very well have this baby, and I was right to be pleased and daydream about it. I think it was an honest feeling. I'm mature enough to be a mother now.
Johan : I don't understand. It's like you've had the abortion already.
Marianne : I have.
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Katarina : Sometimes I hate Peter so much. I want to torture him to death. Some nights, when I can't sleep, I dream up diabolical ways to hurt him.
Marianne : Isn't there any way out of this?
Katarina : I can't see one.
Marianne : Have you ever actually talked to Peter?
Katarina : Now, that's touching.
Marianne : Well, what did he say?
Katarina : He said I should do what I damn well please. He's only interested in seeing how much we can humiliate each other. He calls it our dehumanization process.
Marianne : Maybe he should see a doctor.
Katarina : He did go see an analyst, but he claimed the man was an idiot.
Marianne : Maybe you should go away for a while.
Katarina : One morning I woke up to find the bed empty. Guess where he was. Out on a ledge on the eighth floor, gazing down on the street below. He told me not to worry, that he was only trying to find out who he was. I had to plead with him. Finally, I told him to go ahead, but that brought him in. I wasn't going to get off the hook that easily. You two had it good once upon a time. I still feel a certain hopeless tenderness for him. I understand the anxiety and the feelings of emptiness, disgust and fear. He knows things about me too. Things no one else knows. He says I look like a woman but that I'm a man through and through. Maybe he's right.
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Marianne : We're well aware of the hazards of a life like ours.
Fru Palm, journalist : Hazards? How do you mean?
Johan : The world is going to the dogs, and I prefer to live and let live. I'm entitled to simply look out for number one. It makes me sick to hear about the latest panacea.
Marianne : I don't feel the same way as Johan.
Fru Palm, journalist : How do you feel?
Marianne : I believe... in compassion.
Fru Palm, journalist : Could you please expand on that?
Marianne : If we all learned to care about our fellow man from childhood, the world would be different.
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Fru Palm, journalist : Why are you so upset?
Marianne : At work I see people who collapse under the weight of unrealistic emotional demands. I find it barbaric. I wish...
Fru Palm, journalist : What?
Marianne : I find it difficult to get the right perspective on this issue. That's why I'm reluctant to discuss it. But I wish people - I wish we weren't forced to play all these roles we don't want to play, that we could be kinder to each other. Don't you agree?
Fru Palm, journalist : Yes, a more romantic life.
Marianne : That's not actually what I meant. I meant the exact opposite. You see how poorly I express myself.
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Marianne : I see it at work all the time. Sometimes it's like husband and wife are talking on telephones that are out of order. Sometimes it's like listening to pre-programmed tape recorders. Sometimes all you get is the vast silence of outer space. I don't know which is worst.
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Fru Palm, journalist : I have one last question while Johan is on the phone. What about love? You have to make a statement about love. That's what this series is all about.
Marianne : What if I don't want to?
Fru Palm, journalist : Then I'll make something up. And I assure you, it won't be half as good.
Marianne : No one ever told me what love was, and I'm not sure you need to know. But if you want a detailed description, you can look in the Bible. There Paul describes love.
Fru Palm, journalist : Right, in Corinthians. It's beautiful.
Marianne : The only problem is his definition casts us in such a harsh light. If Paul is right about love, it's so rare that hardly anyone ever experiences it. But as a recital piece at weddings and other special occasions, it's certainly very effective. Personally, I find it's enough to be kind to the person you live with. Affection is also good. Humor, friendship, tolerance. Having reasonable expectations. If you have all that, then love isn't necessary.
