Directed by:
Ingmar BergmanScreenplay:
Ingmar BergmanCinematography:
Sven NykvistComposer:
Lars Johan WerleVOD (1)
Plots(1)
Elizabeth (Liv Ullmann) is a famous actress who has suddenly taken ill and is left without speech. While recovering on the coast, she is cared for by Nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson) and, silenced by the effect of her - possibly psychosomatic - illness, finds that her nurse does the talking for both of them. Gradually, the two women's personalities merge and the boundary between their identities begin to blur. (Accent Film Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (4)
This is a hyper-intellectual fetish for which I’d beat Bergman with an IKEA chair. I really suffered during the mandatory school screening to the point where I wanted to take off my glasses and gouge both my eyes out. I know why I voluntarily avoid this conversational art by a mile.
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Bergman's films lock me into a different world, where no mental experience is deep enough to hide. This also applies to the unsettling Persona, which from the opening shot began spinning depressive circles in my mind. In the introduction, the film is a psychological bullet, suggesting that even the experiences we have gained throughout our lives cannot tell us what we really want. With the urgent camera, the story gains a suggestively built atmosphere and an interesting balance of power, where it seems like the two characters could almost switch roles. However, in the final third, Bergman terribly disappointed me because, given his nature, he allowed the mysteriousness to prevail, causing the storytelling to completely lose its tempo. The plot brings nothing new, it stands still, and the director only plays with his ideas, which complicate all possible understandings of the point and the story as a whole.
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One of those films that make it worthwhile to ignore the world around us for a while and embrace the new aesthetic and intellectual values that one brilliant artist presents to us exclusively and for free. The magic of Persona lies in the fact that we understand what it wants to say, but its statement is made in a way that cannot be interpreted and explained literally. A minimalist but endlessly creative celebration of cinematic language, both silent and conversational, a searing psychological play with two pivotal characters and the audience’s expectations that are shot to the max throughout – though Bergman doesn't need any crazy big twists. A lot of proper filmmaking art for a low price. Thank you.
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Even if you don't like this movie, you will simply understand that this is something created by a remarkably talented filmmaker who knew how to fully utilize the medium and penetrate it in unique ways. The interweaving of images/faces is incredibly splendid, which by the way also demonstrates the director's casting abilities.
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