''Faithless'' ( sv, Trolösa) is a Swedish film directed by

Liv Ullmann Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director. Recognised as one of the greatest European actresses of all time, Ullmann is known as the muse and frequent partner of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. She acted in m ...

from a script by

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoun ...

. The story is loosely based on experiences of adultery from Bergman's own life. It was entered into the

2000 Cannes Film Festival The 53rd Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2000. French film director, screenwriter, and producer Luc Besson was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Danish film '' Dancer in the Dark'' by Lars von Trier. The ...

Plot

An aging director (named "Bergman") conjures in his imagination the central character, Marianne. He interviews her to compose the story of her life-changing affair. Marianne had been happily married to Markus, an orchestra conductor, with a young daughter Isabelle. Her best friend is David, who is seeking funding for a film project. When Markus is away, David approaches Marianne and they go to Marianne's home. There, David surprises her by asking her if they can sleep together. Marianne asserts she sees David more as a brother; she eventually agrees they can sleep in the same bed in nightwear and without sexual relations. However, the two note they are both planning to be in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, France, for separate projects. Markus is aware of their travel plans, and Marianne speculates she and David can meet in Paris, and they would not have to deceive Markus about seeing each other there. In Paris, Marianne and David begin their

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

. David also asks Marianne about her sexual history, and Marianne shares her "modest" list of experiences; but this mostly consists of her relations with Markus, who she said had satisfied her in ways no one else had. This triggers a violent jealous reaction in David. David and Marianne continue their affair after returning from Paris. Following heard rumors, Markus eventually discovers the two together. Markus begins to seek a divorce, and seeks full custody of Isabelle. Marianne gets a lawyer, who tells her Markus has the upper hand, given her desertion of the home. Marianne moves in with David and the two plan to get married; Marianne becomes pregnant with his child. Her lawyer advises that these improved conditions could help her custody case. Markus eventually reaches out to Marianne to meet him alone to settle the custody case, ostensibly for Isabelle's sake. Despite David's angry objections, she agrees to go. At the meeting, Markus blackmails her for sex in exchange for custody. Marianne confesses to the affair to David. The two separate and Marianne has an

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. After hearing Markus has committed suicide, Marianne learns he had also been unfaithful with his page-turner. Bergman bids farewell to Marianne, but she says she suspects they will meet again.

Cast

Accolades

References

External links

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Review by Roger Ebert
2000 films 2000s Swedish-language films 2000 drama films Films directed by Liv Ullmann Films with screenplays by Ingmar Bergman Swedish drama films 2000s Swedish films {{2000s-Sweden-film-stub