Lovely Liv

To be anyone's muse connotes that one must have a certain quality; be it a look, a style, an eye. To be crowned as Ingmar Bergman's muse is a heavy title to wear. But how gracefully Liv Ullmann seems to play that role.

While together, Liv and Ingmar lived together with their daughter on the Swedish island of Faro where in a tiny little house Ingmar conceived and filmed many of his masterpieces. Apparently Ingmar had this habit of scribbling all over the furniture and walls his reminders and numbers. And on his workroom door, Liv and him would make daily drawings about their feelings for each other. When Liv left Ingmar finally, she drew a heart and wrote the words, "Liv leaves". And despite subsequent marriages on both sides, Ingmar kept that door and its markings till the day he died and even took pains to freshen it so that the elements would not bleach and fade it down.

When the stuff of movies and real lives collide.

But if you too had lived and loved beautiful lovely Liv with those eyes, maybe you'll never let that door fade too.

(Liv in Scenes from a Marriage, must find round geeky specs!)

(Liv today, photo from W Magazine)

And for all you lucky new yorkers, Liv is now directing Cate Blanchett in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Ah, Blanche DuBois. One of the best roles ever written for actresses past 30. Being staged by 2 thespians whose writeups invariably include the words, grace and strength. Run, don't walk. Meantime, I'll just sulk here in my corner. More on that here.