So Nice, She's Been Nominated Twice: Liv Ullmann
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at 10:34AM abstew here. With her second nomination for Two Days, One Night, Marion Cotillard joins a small but prestigious group of actresses that received both their Best Actress nominations for foreign language performances. The first actress to achieve it was Sophia Loren who we discussed over the weekend. Today we look back at the Norwegian muse of the master Ingmar Bergman...
Liv Ullmann
after the jump
Best Actress 1972 nominee: The Emigrants (dir. Jan Troell) Winner: Liza Minnelli Cabaret Other nominees: Diana Ross Lady Sings the Blues, Maggie Smith Travels With My Aunt, Cicely Tyson Sounder
Best Actress 1976 nominee: Face to Face (dir. Ingmar Bergman) Winner: Faye Dunaway Network Other nominees: Marie-Christine Barrault Cousin Cousine, Talia Shire Rocky, Sissy Spacek Carrie
There is perhaps no other director that brought the world of Swedish film to the rest of the world as effectively as the legendary Ingmar Bergman. And the actress that is perhaps most associated with him is two-time Best Actress Academy Award nominee, Liv Ullmann. Bergman and Ullmann collaborated on 10 films together and for 5 years were even lovers in real life. (Bergman is also the father to Ullmann's only child, Linn.) And there's no doubt that Ullmann's riveting performances in Bergman's influential and highly regarded films, especially Persona (1966), set the ground work for Ullmann's first Best Actress nomination, which surprisingly wasn't even for a Bergman film.
After her work in Bergman's Persona, Shame (1968), and The Passion of Anna (1969) there was simply no way that the Academy could ignore Ullmann any longer. With Oscar, there's always a certain sense, after several strong performances and buzz, that it's someone time - they're due a nomination. A critic's darling and art house favorite, Ullmann finally scored a Best Actress nomination for her work as Kristina, a Swedish peasant that immigrates to the United States in the 1850s with her family and fellow villagers. It's just the sort of classic American Dream story that the Academy gravitates toward and the film not only brought Ullmann a nomination, but the film itself was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The only version of the film that I could find was not actually in the original Swedish, but an English-dubbed version that I'm sure contributed to its success among American audiences and the Academy in the 70s. The story is like a Swedish Little House on the Prairie, perfect to warm the heart, and it seems Warner Bros. tried to make it much more accessible without that pesky foreign language...I had the same problem finding an Italian version of Two Women (although in the English-dubbed version, Loren provided her own voice). I find nothing more distracting than watching these versions where the actor's mouths don't match the words coming out of them. So much about the performance gets lost without hearing the native language and I wish that studios would preserve the film as it was originally intended. Regardless of my opinion of these performances and films, it really is a rare feat when a foreign film scores big with the Academy in categories outside of Best Foreign Language Film. They should be remembered and celebrated.
With its almost three hour runtime, gorgeous cinematography, and continent-spanning journey, The Emigrants is epic filmmaking. But Ullmann's warm, lived-in performance grounds the film. Her love and devotion to her family feels real and authentic, but she colors what could become just another dutiful wife and mother role by giving Kristina shades of hesitation and worry. When she lovingly embraces her husband (Max von Sydow) there is also a mix of fear - they can barely afford to feed the children they have. She wants to show affection, but love comes with consequences that she's not sure she can afford.
There are so many different characters in the film and although Ullmann has a small amount of screentime, she makes the most of what she's given. But I'm still a little surprised that such a understated supporting part managed to score her a Best Actress nomination. She even won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama over Diana Ross' screen debut as Billie Holiday and previous Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward. But there was no way that Ullmann could win the Oscar over the Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, Liza Minnelli in Cabaret. An iconic performance certainly deserving of the win. (It's also interesting to note that the year's Best Actress race, in addition to Ullmann's foreign language performance, marked the first and only time that two black actresses were nominated at the same time in the category.)
For her second nomination four years later in Face to Face, Ullmann was finally honored for her work in an Ingmar Bergman film. Ullmann plays Dr. Jenny Isaksson, a psychiatrist that finds that there are deep-seated psychological issues that make her feel that she is losing her mind. The film is minor Bergman and the nomination seems to have been a make-up nomination when her work in 1973's Scenes from a Marriage was deemed ineligible for a nomination despite scoring Golden Globe and BAFTA nods.
The film starts off promising as Ullmann deals with a patient that is catatonic, has to move in with her parents while her house is worked on, and, you know, just followed around by a creepy old woman that may or not be real with one crazy eye. But after an attempted suicide, the film turns into an hour and half dream sequence of psychology 101, complete with mommy/daddy issues, fear of abandonment, and a religious-looking red robe and cap all heavily seeped in symbolism. Ullmann throws herself completely into all the self-indulgent, heavy-handed metaphors. One extended monologue in which the camera never moves from her face is astounding in how deeply the actress digs in, a raw nerve of emotion. It's just unfortunate that it never really amounts to anything.
In another interesting Best Actress line-up, Ullmann was not the only foreign language performance honored that year as Marie-Christine Barrault Cousin Cousine was also nominated for her French language performance. But neither were a match for Faye Dunaway's dynamic performance as amoral television network executive Diana Christensen in Network.
Ullmann spends most of her time now as a director of both stage and film. Working with some of the best actresses working today, she directed Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett in a stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire and Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain in a film version of Strindberg's Miss Julie this past year. But it's her Swedish films from the 60s and 70s, particularly with Bergman, that made her career. I wish that her two nominations were more indicative of her best work, but her place among the greats is assured. She even topped our list of women most deserving of an Honorary Academy Award. Hopefully these two Best Actress nominations won't be her last brush with Oscar.
Do you think Ullmann's two nominations for Best Actress rank as her best work? What two films do you wish she had been nominated for? Speak your mind in the comments.
Previous Actress in this series: Sophia Loren
Reader Comments (25)
I really think she should be nominated for Autumn Sonata, just to mention a movie that was in AMPAS' radar. She is just as great as Bergman, and I could say is even better than Bergman.
I don't think she should be nominated for Scenes of Marriage, in spite of her towering performance, since it's a miniseries, and a perfect one. The theatrical cut just lacks the power of the TV version in six episodes.
I'd nominate her too in Cries and Whispers as supporting (everyone is supporting). The Emigrants is a gray area, too, but the leading nomination is just fine.
I never see a dubbed movie, never.
To clarify a few things:
Ullmann didn't fail to win a nomination for Scenes from a Marriage; her film was declared ineligible because it had been shown on Swedish television. She would almost certainly have been nominated without that impediment, since she was the NY/National Critics' winner, and the film was, by art-house standards, a great success.
Had that happened, you'd likely be writing about her as the only three-time subtitled nominee, because her work in Face to Face was also widely acclaimed -- she won NY, NBR and the newly-formed LA Critics' best actress prize. And, while Dunaway's winning performance sits very strongly in history, Ullmann at the time was considered a formidable contender to win the Oscar. Sidney Skolsky, a Hollywood columnist who was then the most prominent Oscar predictor (and not a guy to pursue long shots), flat-out predicted her to win. (I think you underrate this performance the way some are underrating Julianne Moore's this year; the film isn't a major one, but the performance within it is pretty spectacular.)
If you watch the 72' video on Youtube... the entire line-up looks *so* tense! You would never see that now... none of the actresses would allow themselves to show their true emotions.
thanks, tom q. clarified the ineligibility. but despite her not being able to receive an oscar nom for it, i still feel her performance in scenes from a marriage greatly influenced her second nomination. and she does strong work in face to face, but i just don't feel it ranks as one of her best. but i guess having her nominated at all is better than nothing...
'The Emigrants' is one of those movies that I am completely incapable of shaking. When you pair it with its second half, 'The New World', it becomes a very complete and vivid story that really does well at making one understand how life was like at that time. I've never had a film demonstrate so fully that period before.
Bia -- I live for those Youtube clips!!!
I'm not into Liv Ullmann but I love this post.
For those who can't seem to find The Emigrants for home viewing, it's on TCM on the 27th of February.
Face to Face is one of my best actress gaps but I have seen The Emigrants and she was wonderful but I thought it belonged in supporting. Also supporting but worth a nomination was her work in both Autumn Sonata and Cries & Whispers. I have many of her performances to still see but I've yet to see her be bad. Even when she's miscast as she was in 40 Carats she added something interesting to the film.
One of the great movie faces... Maybe the greatest.
My favorite Liv Ullmann performance is in Hour of the Wolf. It's also probably my favorite Ingmar Bergman film, as well. I love it when auteurs toy with the horror genre. They always bring so much nuance and style. Hour of the Wolf is no exception.
My favourite of her performances is "Scenes from a Marriage", although it was unfortunately not eligible for an Oscar nomination. Along with Gena Rowlands she was an actress who was unsparing in front of the camera, and she was hugely admired. Her films aren't widely seen by the public but she was an artist and a great influence on actresses of her generation.
On a side note, the nomination of Marie-Christine Barrault in "Cousin Cousine" was very popular, it was a very witty french comedy. She didn't have a chance at winning the Oscar but the nomination was a nice tribute to an exceptional comic turn.
Her performances in those BErgman's movies are among Cinema's best performances ever. "Persona ", "Shame ", "Cries and whispers " and "SCenes of a marriage " left me breathless. But "Autumn sonata " was very special for me. Watching those two women, BErgman and LIvv, two of the most gorgeous creatures that ever walked on eart,and at the same time two of the most gifted actresses eve, was unforgettable. Well, today we have Sandra bullock, lawrence and Jolie who are always great.
Liv Ullmann is not supporting in Autumn Sonata. It's about her and her mother. Thelma and Louise.
And, again, the Scenes of a Marriage is not a movie that was shown on TV. It's a masterful tv miniseries that had 120 minutes cut for theatrical release. It's a tv masterpiece, not a movie masterpiece, and that performance is particuklar stronger when you see the whole picture.
The year after she was nominated for The Emigrants, she was eligible in 1973 for The New Land, its sequel, and her failure to be nominated for that is baffling considering that she she was recognized by The National Society of Film Critics and National Board of Review for that performance. In addition to the aforementioned Shame and Scenes from a Marriage, I'd include The Passion of Anna as a film she potentially could have been nominated for.
I blush while posting, but I have seen very few of Liv's films. I remember seeing Scenes From a Marriage as a boy, and being quite moved. I had a bad reaction to Persona, so I need to revisit. From her filmography, Cries and Whispers sounds most interesting to me.
I can't understand how an awards body fails to nominate Ullmann for "Persona", leading, supporting, whatever you fancy. It's still groundbreaking work after so many years.
My favorite piece of trivia about this (courtesy of Nick Davis): a whole roster of classic actresses took out a Times ad in order to campaign for Ullmann's Scenes from a Marriage performance to be deemed Oscar-eligible.
Seriously, look at that list. It's glorious.
Colin: That is impressive. Why was the performance ineligible?
Colin: Found my answer. It was originally a mini series and had been shown on Swedish TV previous to the theatrical version being released.
LOVE Liv Ullman!
such a unique beauty and great actress.
Friendly reminder that I also mentioned in the "Sounder" thread:
THE EMIGRANTS is airing on TCMs 31 Days of Oscar on Friday, February 27, 2015 @ 5:15 PM ET. Watch it or set your DVRs accordingly, b/c this film is rarely shown on television in its original format (or any format, for that matter). Very excited to finally see the full lineup for the 1972 Best Actress Oscar race!
Last year I stayed in Haugesund in Norway, where Marilyn Monroe's father was actually born. Every year they have a Film Festival of which Liv Ullmann is the President. As I was walking around my hotel I found the Liv Ullmann Suite, where I guess she stays when the Festival is on.
I've actually only seen her in Persona and Cries and Whispers so far. I really need to catch up on my Bergman watching, although I have seen 12 so far, just not many with Liv.
She completely deserved those nominations and a win for face to face which was considered by roger ebert as the best performance in an ingmar Bergman film. But she deserved nominations for 2 more films scenes from a marrige and shame . I wont say say she should have been nominated for persona becoz bibi Anderson was equally amazing in it . But she was amazing in the passion of anna as well.
I love this topic
Having rewatched Cries and Whispers I got to say that I'm impressed.