Liv Johanne Ullmann (born 16 December 1938) is a Norwegian actress and film director, as well as one of the muses of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. A winner of a Golden Globe and a recipient of an honorary Academy Award, Ullmann has also been nominated for both the Palme d'Or and twice for other Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award.
Liv Ullmann in Ingmar Bergman's Persona. Photo from bfi.org.uk
When existence feels too real, I retreat into the comforts of my reclusive tendencies and surround myself with the enchanting confines of cinema. It is in this same dangerous habit that I discovered Ingmar Bergman and my deepest love for this legendary artist. Together with this discovery came my unexpected awe with his Stradivarius, Liv Ullmann. My favourite film of theirs is Autumn Sonata. But after watching Shame, The Passion of Anna, and Scenes From A Marriage almost consecutively in the past weeks, I had to know more about Liv Ullmann. It is how I stumbled upon her contemplative memoir, Changing. Divided into four parts, Norway, Islanders, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Masks, its nonlinearity nearly gives a dreamlike impression with its constant recall of childhood. In her fragmented retrospection which reads like a diary, she tells her complicated affair with Bergman, especially when they lived in F氓r枚 and their filming process (of their film Face to Face) and collaboration. She also shares her attempt to make a name in Hollywood, her yearning for home, the attack of loneliness and fading with age, and her conflicted passion for acting and theatre.
In the course of the memoir, she often ponders why mothers are immediately bad/neglectful for having a profession when men get a pass. And she worries she's selfish for being away from her daughter due to work. It's easy to define an artist based on their work alone. Liv reminds us of its hazards, of an artist's forgotten humanity if not for the surreal stories she nonchalantly includes here. Once, she attended a party and overheard Mae West mention she didn't know her seconds after feigning excitement about finally meeting her. Another was when she visited Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner's house and looked at a film about "a dog making love to a girl" (please don't ask me to elaborate further).
Changing often shifts from one grammatical person to the other. It can be a little annoying at times. A dialogue from Scenes From A Marriage describes this memoir aptly: "You have moments of greatness, interspersed with sheer mediocrity." But beyond Liv's apparent grapple for a distinct voice in her writing and her restraint, her sincere sensibilities and intense rumination are infectious. They reveal as much about herself as with ours. The memoir satisfies for its glimpse on one of the most unquestionably versatile and exquisite actresses to bless the screen.
Veider lugu selle raamatuga. Ta ilmutas end mulle siin ja seal kuskil aasta-pooleteise jooksul. Mina tegin n盲o, et ei saa vihjetest aru. L玫puks ei saanud enam ignoreerida, kui ta f眉眉silisel kujul mu ees laual oli. Isegi mitte minu omal. Tegin kuskilt keskelt lahti ja lugesin veidi ning olin t盲iesti v玫lutud. Seda veidram, et ma lugesin teda l玫puks vaimustunult, et siis pooleli j盲tta paariks n盲dalaks. Tuli v盲lja, et see oli osa plaanist. Miranda July "All Fours" tekitas minus sellise tunde, et okeiii... mida ma siit n眉眉d edasi peaks lugema??? Ja siis Liv Ullmann lehvitas j盲lle riiulist ja poleks parimat kooslust ise osanud v盲lja m玫elda.
Muigasin, et kuskil raamatu esimeses veerandis 眉tleb Ullmann enda kohta, et ei ole nais玫iguslane (v玫i ei m玫ista neid? ma ei m盲letagi enam nii t盲pselt) ja siis kogu 眉lej盲盲nud raamatu veenab lugejat t盲pselt vastupidises. V玫ib-olla tal oli mingi probleem selle omaksv玫tmisega. Sildiga?
Pealkiri vihjab, mida Ullmann selle raamatuga t盲pselt tabada tahtis 鈥� inimese, naise (!), muutumine ajas. Naisena, n盲itlejana, emana, kaaslasena. Neis t盲helepanekutes ei ole v玫ib-olla midagi uut, aga Ullmanni viis neid edasi anda oli s眉gavalt liigutav. Ja see ju ongi lugemise nauding 鈥� keegi s玫nastab neid paineid ja igatsusi sinust paremini.
Ingmar writes that perhaps there are no words that reach us, that perhaps there is no reality. That reality exists only as a longing. I don鈥檛 know. If so, is not longing real? The fact that we wish to talk to one another about it, yearn to accept our own and others鈥� insecurity. * I am sitting here, my thoughts carrying me around the world and within myself, trying to record the voyage on paper. I want to write about love-about being a human being about loneliness-about being a woman. I want to write about an encounter on an island. A man who changed my life. I want to write about a change that was accidental and a change that was deliberate. I want to write about moments I regard as gifts, good moments and bad moments. I don't believe that the knowledge or experience that is part of me is any greater than what others have. I have attained one dream-and acquired ten new ones in its place. I have seen the reverse side of something that glitters. * I know that I can never explain convincingly. I wish it were not so vague even to me. [...] Fear of being left empty-handed after having revealed myself. * Why couldn't one know that Time moves on with ever-increasing speed and plays havoc with all things we once thought we could leave for tomorrow? * Nothing ever comes to an end. Wherever one has sunk roots that emanate from one's best or truest self, one will always find a home. To return is not to revisit something that has failed. I can walk along the old paths without bitterness that other feet are now taking pleasure in them. The sea is there just as it always has been.
it's the best book i've read in a while liv ullmann is so tender and delicate telling her memories, some of them seem like distant dreams, some seem like ghosts from the past and some are so real that i can almost touch them i forgot myself while reading, i was so deep into her world i read part of the book aloud in bed (to my boy) and i really enjoyed it, it's meant to be read quietly, like poetry ("锌芯械蟹懈褟褌邪 薪械 褋械 褋谢褍褕邪, 邪 褋械 锌芯写褋谢褍褕胁邪")
Qualquer pessoa que tenha um m铆nimo conhecimento sobre cinema sabe que Liv Ullmann 茅 uma das grandes atrizes de sua hist贸ria e esse livro (que ela escreveu quando tinha por volta quarenta anos) nos faz o favor de nos mostrar al茅m de pequenos relances de sua vida pessoal, mas tamb茅m um fabuloso di谩rio de filmagens de Face a Face do Bergman, que por acaso considero sua melhor interpreta莽茫o, muito embora ela tivesse atuado em melhores filmes de Bergman. Al茅m da vida com a filha, seu per铆odo em Hollywood, suas viagens pelo mundo, a estranh铆ssima proximidade com Henry Kissinger (!!!), n贸s ainda temos a certeza do que j谩 havia ficado claro em Lanterna M谩gica: que o Bergman era um macho chato do caralho. Ullman fala de tudo isso com muita destreza e maturidade, al茅m de mostrar o quanto t茅cnica e intui莽茫o moldaram suas sempre excelentes interpreta莽玫es.