It's not difficult for me to understand the impact it had on you. I remember having dinner with Danny, who lived next door during my first year of grad school at Ohio State. It was 1982, and we were discussing Arthur Hiller's Making Love, which, I contended, is not a good film. But Danny felt so good simply about the film getting made he saw it twice, even though it's much inferior to films like Chereau's, released a couple years later (and only in a few cities). The first American "gay interest" film I remember liking is Parting Glances, with a young Steve Buscemi.
Tuesday February 8th
I attended Liv Ullmann's press conference at the Loews Hotel on SoBe. I came of age as a cinephile while her acting career was at its zenith. Growing up, theatrical screenings of the films below constituted some of my most prized moments: The Emigrants, The New Land, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, Zandy's Bride and Autumn Sonata. Later on I had the opportunity to watch the Bergman films I was to young to watch in the 60s: Persona, Shame, The Passion of Anna and Hour of the Wolf. I remember walking out of theatres with more questions than answers, but changed somehow, and amazed at the power of cinema to pose the great questions.
So you get the idea today was special for me. Ms.Ullmann divides her time between Norway and Key Largo, FLA., where, she stated, she's written her last four scripts. She states she always writes outdoors because nature and sunshine stimulate her creativity. She discussed her relationship with Ingmar Bergman, the transition from acting to directing, how she shot four movies in Hollywood in 1973_none successful at the box office, although she thinks (and I agree) that Zandy's Bride is a great movie, the reunion with Bergman during their latest (and likely last) collaboration Saraband.
At night I attended a tribute to Ms. Ullmann. She was presented with a Career Achievement Award by Fest director Nicole Guillermet, clips from most of her 50 performances were shown, and an she subjected to a probing interview and questions from the appreciative audience. Saraband was screened. Bergmann is back at age 86 with an undeniable masterpiece, not quite a sequel to Scenes From A Marriage although Ullmann and Erland Josephson play the same characters.
During the afternoon I watched a prison drama from Poland called Symetria by writer/director Konrad Niewolski. Reviews of Saraband and Symetria, which will have to get shorter due to time constraints, coming soon on the Miami International Film Festival thread.
