Synopsis
Face to Face (Ansikte mot ansikte, 1976) is Ingmar Bergman's psychological drama, available to watch online on iFILM. Liv Ullmann plays Jenny Isaksson, a successful psychiatrist who seems to have everything in order. Left alone in her grandparents' apartment while her family is away, she watches her own mind start to come apart.
By day Jenny listens to other people's breakdowns; by night she is ambushed by hallucinations, dread and buried childhood memories she spent decades sealing off. The professional composure cracks. A suicide attempt becomes the hinge of the story, forcing her to face the one stranger she never really met — herself. Erland Josephson plays the doctor Tomas, with Bergman regular Gunnar Björnstrand alongside.
The film was condensed to 135 minutes from a four-part Swedish television production, and it earned Ullmann an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Bergman charts a collapse with no melodrama and no tricks, just the close-up and long silences doing the work. Slow, heavy, unflinching — one for anyone drawn to Scandinavian arthouse and acting pushed to the edge. Stream Face to Face (1976) online on iFILM.
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