Ingmar Bergman passed away in 2007 and already during the director's lifetime, Tomas Alfredson, who had just gone through a difficult divorce, was captivated by the triangular drama "Deceptive" which was released in 2000.
He got Bergman's permission to make his version.
He was initially very enthusiastic, but I think it eventually became too conflict-filled for him, since his former wife Liv Ullmann had made the film. If another one was made, it would have conflicted with that one, so it fell through, says Tomas Alfredson.
But now it's happening. "Deceptive" premieres on SVT Play on January 26 and on SVT1 the day after. Gustav Lindh, Frida Gustavsson, and August Wittgenstein play the lead roles in Alfredson's version.
Gustav Lindh, who plays Bergman's alter ego David Howard, is eager to highlight Bergman for a younger generation, where the memory of the director is increasingly about his cultural persona with many children and complicated relationships with women, rather than his work.
Hopefully, we can get people to remember his greatness through this. We hope this will spark something in younger generations as well, says he.
Female Screenwriter
Tomas Alfredson tells us that he insisted on a female screenwriter and got it in Norwegian Sara Johnsen.
This story is, after all, written by a man who doesn't have a great "track record" for treating his romantic partners well. I thought it had to be balanced, says Alfredson.
Perfect Endre
There is a common denominator in both versions. Lena Endre played the dreamy Marianne, the object of Bergman's love, in the first film. Now she portrays an aged Marianne, who meets David many years later.
It felt perfect and she is just incredible. What she accomplishes in this role! Completely without vanity and she throws herself into it without any talk about how it was last time. Or that she would know better, praises Alfredson.
For Frida Gustavsson, who plays the young Marianne, it was a huge experience to work with Lena Endre.
She was the first person I called when I found out I was going to play this role. It was really nice to get her "blessing", but also to hear about her experiences. Bergman wrote this text for her.
Ingmar Bergman wrote the script for "Deceptive", which Liv Ullmann directed. The film premiered in 2000 with Lena Endre, Erland Josephson, Krister Henrikson, and Thomas Hanzon in the roles. A longer TV version premiered a few years later.
