Persona

"Persona" is a Swedish psychological drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and it follows an actress who one night stopped speaking in the middle of her performance, and has been silent ever since.

Persona or "The Poem in Images" is a very confusing motion picture, coming out of it, you realise that not everything about it is supposed to be taken literally, which creates a deeper meaning to its mystery, although I have only watched the film once, I was still able to take enough of it and make my own interpretation of the events.

There are minor spoilers ahead so be aware:

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WARNING: "Spoilers, be aware !" spoilers below

To me, this movie is about accepting our hidden shadow, or the darker side of our personality and soul, where all of our sinister fantasies and thoughts hide from the public's eyesight. Once the mute Elisabet Vogler (played by Liv Ullmann) start getting taken care of by nurse Alma (played by Bibi Andersson), their persona start merging together, and Ingmar Bergman does an incredible job at conveying the idea of "two in one" via the dialogue between these two characters, and through time, it becomes pretty clear that Elisabeth is the person while Alma is the persona.

To me, this movie is about accepting our hidden shadow, or the darker side of our personality and soul, where all of our sinister fantasies and thoughts hide from the public's eyesight. Once the mute Elisabet Vogler (played by Liv Ullmann) start getting taken care of by nurse Alma (played by Bibi Andersson), their persona start merging together, and Ingmar Bergman does an incredible job at conveying the idea of "two in one" via the dialogue between these two characters, and through time, it becomes pretty clear that Elisabeth is the person while Alma is the persona.

The performances are fantastic to say the least, Liv Ullmann plays Elisabeth, a silent actress who doesn't speak for 98% of the film, so she is given a difficult task which is to portray all of her emotions through facial expressions, while Bibi Andersson plays Alma, a nurse who doesn't stop talking for the entirety of the movie, their characters are polar opposites yet extremely similar at the same time.

The nickname "Poem in Images" is given deservedly so, the cinematography is amazing especially for the film's time, it is a major part of the movie that helps at clearing the mysterious happenings, but also summons clouds as a barrier for the purpose of making truth seekers paths more difficult.

With all of that being said, is this a pretentious film ? Yes and No. Maybe my opinion will change after a second watch, but right now I definitely feel as though there were some sequences that were just for shock value with no interior context, but fortunately I believe that the average viewer can still apprehend the general idea and the theme of the movie at first viewing.

This complex feature is a study that deserves to be analysed, I congratulate the director, the cinematographer and the actors for bringing this artistic piece to life that is in need of several viewings for a proper understanding. This is a Full Price.