Persona (1966)

23 out of 23 people found the following review helpful:

Modern Art

A Customer from Thame, England, 20th August, 2004

This is one of those famous black and white 60's films that you can't be bothered to rent becuase you think it would be a bit worthy and hard going.

This film though has aged like a fine wine.

Watch the opening credits and I defy you to believe it was made nearly 40 years ago.

Its cool in every sense of the word - shot in bleached black and white with a minimalist cast of two blond women one actually refusing to talk throughout the whole film.

Yet it is gripping, partly its the frankess of the dialogue but also the slow unveiling of the films concept.

Treat this like making a trip to the Tate modern without having to leave your living room and you will enjoy it.

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12 out of 14 people found the following review helpful:

Freudian slips

PeterSays from , 13th December, 2006

When I read in the summary that this is “one of Ingmar Bergman's greatest cinematic accomplishments and should not to be missed by anyone seriously interested in film”, I didn’t know whether this was a recommendation or an injunction. Apparently, this film has been much debated about. In the entry in Wikipedia on the film, it says there are two main theories, that the two women reverse patient-nurse roles or the two women are one and the same person. I wish now I had read this beforehand to see which I prefered. Looking back, I think both are true. In the first half the two women swap roles (known as ‘transference’ according to Wikipedia) and in the second half (the film is broken by a second ‘collage’ sequence) the two women merge, dream-like, so that even Elisabet’s blind husband gets confused. Interesting but is it a film worth watching? I would say, definitely. In black and white, some of the shots really are fantastic. I now remember watching this film as a thirteen or fourteen-year-old (way back in the 1970’s), and being really excited by Alma’s sexy encounter on the beach. This time I really sided with Alma when she discovered what Elisabet wrote in her letter. It's a good - and clearly a memorable - film. A movie to be enjoyed for its own sake apart from its cinematographic and psychological significance.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review helpful:

A flowing canvas of insight!

Billy from Edinburgh, Scotland, 19th May, 2007

And then there was Ingmar Bergman! He decided to investigate psychological and philosophical ideas, work in symbolism and metaphor, capture essence and form, deal with humanity and existence; all through the medium of film. He is not what we regard as a ‘movie-maker’. Persona shows the true art of Bergman and is a testament to the culture of film as one of the finest pieces of artistry in the medium. Here you do not merely get to watch a movie, nor do you get to spectate at a motionless painting or sculpture; here you get to experience the art along with the characters expressing it to you. Every image draws you into their world, every word shares a thought or feeling, every silence encourages you to think beyond the boundaries of what is shown. We are not here to be fed entertainment; we are here to investigate art. Persona focuses on the idea of self as a psychological concept, depicting two sides of a personality through it’s main two characters, Elisabet and Alma. Elisabet is an actress who no longer speaks - due to an epiphany on stage one day; and Alma is the nurse assigned to try and lure her from her silence. Elisabet, in her silence, represents the selfish, narcissistic ego of our personality; keeping herself outside (and therefore above) any social interaction with others. She becomes a spectator on other’s lives and a study of unsolicited response from the personalities of those around her - presumably gaining valuable insight into differing human psychoses as well as a wealth of emotional response to draw on as an actress. Alma, who sometimes talks non-stop throughout scenes, represents our social, super-ego - whose desire is to be loved by others. She tells her darkest secrets, offers praise and pleads to be acknowledged, becomes upset or angry or vindictive, anything she can think of really to gain attention and assurance. It is then up to you to decide which is the most valuable or fragile, destructive or positive, human or inhuman side to a personality. We see the problems of having extremes in these two parts of a person as the film progresses - how the two women gradually begin to destroy one another in a battle for their own survival. We see how they use each other to work out their problems and how they attack the other to retain superiority - as that is the only way to cope. Is it better to be selfish and strong in order to keep your opponent weak, or should we turn hateful and exact revenge to overcome our enemies? Ultimately we see the need for both women to co-exist, as both contribute something to a full personality. This is masterfully shown in the ‘passing ships’ scene when the ladies unite in the night, sounding their unique calls to each other. We watch them merge into one and literally devour each other as the broken psyche starts to mend itself, and we finally understand the human need to love and be loved. But then there’s the magical photography and stunning atmosphere to experience as well. You can’t say everything that needs to be said about this film, just as people still debate the Mona Lisa or marvel at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This is art. Discuss it, debate it, experience it, learn from it, interact with it, study it - Watch it. Here endeth the lesson.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review helpful:

beautiful, but

Arun from Liverpool, UK, 9th May, 2005

The photography was amazing. Brilliant performances by the two lead actresses. But i couldnt comprehend the ending.

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Subtlety and Complexity

Nigel Wilson from Helmsley, North Riding of Yorkshire, 26th May, 2010

Stunning. A wonderful film - especially for its imaginative sensitivity, whose meaning and effect grow on you by stealth. It takes time to grasp how the separation and merging of personalities is being developed. Meanwhile, you get impressive performances by Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson, with the embroidery of occasional surreallist effects ... which, I confess, reminded me of 'Un Chien Andalou' or 'L'Age d'Or' - whose scorpion introduction is momentarily echoed as Bergman's own spider phantasm.

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Brilliant and riveting

A Customer from brighton, 14th May, 2010

Amazing performances, brilliant photography. It's so psychologically mature and sophisticated - it makes you realise what tripe is served up to us by mainstream film making.

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Great

A Customer from Farnborough, 28th January, 2010

With no doubt this is certainly one of the best movies I have ever seen.

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