Synopsis
Dr. Jenny Isaksson is a psychiatrist whose temporary position at a mental hospital offers only modest responsibilities. With her husband out of the country for a seminar and her daughter at camp, Jenny moves in with her grandparents, expecting a relaxing few months. But it isn't long before unpleasant memories of her childhood, the sudden appearance of strange apparitions, and a near-rape push this otherwise stable woman to the very edge of sanity.
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Cast
- Liv UllmannDr. Jenny Isaksson
- Erland JosephsonDr. Tomas Jacobi
- Aino TaubeJenny's Grandmother
- Gunnar BjörnstrandJenny's Grandfather
- Kristina AdolphsonNurse Veronica
- Marianne AminoffJenny's Mother
- Gösta EkmanMikael Strömberg
- Helene FribergAnna Isaksson
- Ulf JohanssonHelmuth Wankel
- Sven LindbergErik Isaksson
Recommendations
- 100
TV Guide Magazine
Face to Face is an extremely intense experience from start to finish, due in large part to Ullmann's performance as she powerfully expresses a range of emotions seldom seen in American films. - 90
The New York Times
Bergman creates a stunning picture not only of personal anxiety but also of the fury that may exist just below the surface of any perfect state. - 80
Time Out
The acting is intense, as you would expect from Ullmann and Josephson, working under a director who was coming to terms with his own breakdown in this film; and the nightmare imagery (washed-out backgrounds clashing vividly with stark colours) delivers a strong jolt to the subconscious. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
A confused and sometimes overwrought new treatment of the director's most obsessive theme, suicide. - 60
Time
This is a strange, stormy period for Ingmar Bergman. - 50
Slant Magazine
Face to Face feels scattershot and incomplete, never adequately establishing connections between characters, motivations for significant actions, or even the simple causalities of time and space. - 40
Chicago Reader
Ingmar Bergman at his most painful, pretentious, and empty.
