Persona (1966)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Ingmar Bergman, 1918-2007

• Dan S

  
  An intense, well-constructed look on insanity, denial, and femininity at a cabin along a beach, where a nurse (Bibi Andersson) and recently near-catatonic patient (Live Ullmann) struggle to control their emotions. In terms of Bergman films, I feel as though both "Wild… More
  An intense, well-constructed look on insanity, denial, and femininity at a cabin along a beach, where a nurse (Bibi Andersson) and recently near-catatonic patient (Live Ullmann) struggle to control their emotions. In terms of Bergman films, I feel as though both "Wild Strawberries" and "The Seventh Seal" are better overall films, but that is not to slight this particular film, which is a fascinating pseudo-nightmare that is clearly under the control of a master film-maker. It is at times too slow and too talky at times, but for the most part the dialogue is sharp and the story unfolds both smoothly and surprisingly. Both Andersson and Ullman are phenomenal, and Bergman captures enough wide-eyed stares and creepy poses to last three to four films, which leaves the viewer in admiration of this unabashed gem. Not quite perfect, as said, but still an outstanding picture worthy of a view.

• KJ P

  
  One after another, this film provides a series of misunderstood question marks. Critics around the world have come up with hundreds of meanings for this film, and like all of them, I have my own thoughts. Persona is about a woman who is looking after an actress, turned non-speaking… More
  One after another, this film provides a series of misunderstood question marks. Critics around the world have come up with hundreds of meanings for this film, and like all of them, I have my own thoughts. Persona is about a woman who is looking after an actress, turned non-speaking individual. Eventually, she takes her away to a beach where she spills her deepest, darkest, and dirtiest secrets. Seeing as she is non-responsive, she believes she will keep these sexually controversial memories to herself. Things begin to get confusing as she falls in love with her patient. An awkwardly unheard of romance begins, and the film spirals into jumbled, yet amazing screen transitions and designs. "Persona" will definitely mess with your mind in more ways than one, but overall, even though non of your questions will ever fully be answered, this film is magnificent!

• Michael G

  
  Persona is a movie that leaves my feelings about it as segmented as many aspects of the story. The imagery and cinematography are worth a watch alone, but the dreamlike quality of the movie and the story itself put me out like a 6-pack of Benadryl. I love how Persona is a blueprint of… More
  Persona is a movie that leaves my feelings about it as segmented as many aspects of the story. The imagery and cinematography are worth a watch alone, but the dreamlike quality of the movie and the story itself put me out like a 6-pack of Benadryl. I love how Persona is a blueprint of sorts for Mulholland Drive and Fight Club but by the end of the movie I feel like I've been taking crazy pills for days and (not necessarily as a result) I have no idea what the hell's happening. I'm so thankful its not a long movie.

• Cindy I

  
  Full review coming soon...

• Cassandra M

  
  For all its bizarreness; avant-garde feel and totally disorientating visual style at points, Persona actually tells rather a straight forward narrative and adopts a relatively simple visual approach. The camera work is sly and unspectacular, relying on the film itself and its various… More
  For all its bizarreness; avant-garde feel and totally disorientating visual style at points, Persona actually tells rather a straight forward narrative and adopts a relatively simple visual approach. The camera work is sly and unspectacular, relying on the film itself and its various bursts of disturbance to get across more of a 'bang' in the viewers mind and its story, with particular attention to the manner in which a relatively routine love story-come-psychoanalytical tale is told, is shot and unfolded using gentle camera-work and soft female voices to aid the visuals. Such a juxtaposition between visuals and timbre are the hallmarks of someone who knows what they're doing especially given the other visuals elements director Bergman includes. So about these other visual elements. The film begins with such a rapid display of images; it is difficult for the human eye to garner exactly what has just flashed up. This is after a slow and deliberate track into a person lying in a hospital, looking dead. The opening and closing montages which share the same powerful punch are two of the most eerie I've seen and rank up there with Elem Klimov's 1985 film Come and See and its closing display of images. But what does it all mean? Thrown in at the end of hands touching steamed up glass and odd looking creepy bugs crawling up same said panes is a projection unit playing rolls of developed film onto a white screen. I think to come up with a stone wall idea on what this means is futility of sorts. It could be Bergman reminding us that a film is still just a film and the following events (and events we've just seen) are obviously not real but the psychology behind the events to come (or just transpired) are real and do exist. This forces us to consider a complicated area: Sweden's (the nation that made the film) or indeed the world's attention to psychoanalysis and how much we are aware of such a thing. Although the film is produced several decades after the writings, it was made a mere six years after Hitchcock's Psycho which itself included such issues. Bergman's Persona covers the loneliness and isolation of a character named Alma (Andersson) who is a nurse and her gradual appreciation for hospital patient Elizabeth (Ullmann) after so many deviations and, quite possibly, regrets to do with and into the past of the life. But the film is a little more than a psychological study, even if by not very much. From my own viewpoint, no matter how wrong or how basic it may be or respectively sound, Alma suffers from this loneliness so much that to have the individual of Elizabeth around actually reminds her of what it's like to have human contact. Indeed, the contact is not a physical one and is not one as graphic as regressions into the past have us believe they used to be. One scene has Alma describe an orgy on a beach with males she did not know at the time and tells us of a friend who was also there but where is that friend now and what meaning does it have toward the larger scale of things? How did she become so 'unpopular' and secluded? There can be no denying that Alma comes across as a confident person and looking at the role she plays within the film, a nurse, you would think she needs attributes of charisma and a strong soul in order to combat any nastiness she might see on the job and to work up a strong communicative relationship with any doctor or patient she may come across. Incidentally, that scenario is played out in this film and makes me think that the film is somewhat purely a study of an individual loosing consciousness of what's around her but using the mute character of Elizabeth as a slow burning reason to tell the story. Either way, it's all very complicated but somewhat intriguing. Persona is the sort of film that gives you a headache but it's one of those 'nice' headaches you get when trying to work something out. Due to the sheer nature of the film and general inclusion of elements of the avant-garde, there cannot really be a stone wall conclusion to the film. Much like Luis Buñuel's early work, Persona is a mixed bag of interesting ideas and un-readable content ? an exercise in futility from any non-qualified film personnel to read into and get marginally close to a correct reading. The film has its characters write letters; read the letters; question one's sanity; show us cameras and film stock being played; have the fourth wall being broken; give us metaphorical montages that are too quick to absorb and then have the audacity to render whatever reading we may have into it all incorrect. But I guess that's all part of the genius of Bergman.

• Randy T

  
  Is it a great film? Yes. Is it one I'd like to own and watch over and over and over again? No. Igmar Bergman's films are, for me, much like those of Fellini. They're masterpieces of modernist, expressionistic art but there is sometimes no personal connection.… More
  Is it a great film? Yes. Is it one I'd like to own and watch over and over and over again? No. Igmar Bergman's films are, for me, much like those of Fellini. They're masterpieces of modernist, expressionistic art but there is sometimes no personal connection. Intense? Yes! Recommended viewing? Of course. Empathetical and recognizable? Absolutely not.

• Anthony L

  
  This is possibly the most beautifully directed film I've ever seen. The black and white photography is sublime, the performances are amazing, especially from Bibi Andersson who's performance is incomparable. The conclusion of this film was highly original of its time and has… More
  This is possibly the most beautifully directed film I've ever seen. The black and white photography is sublime, the performances are amazing, especially from Bibi Andersson who's performance is incomparable. The conclusion of this film was highly original of its time and has been Imitated many times since, some good, some excellent but none are quite as hauntingly beautiful as Persona. An absolute masterpiece and a must see!!

• Jennifer D

  
  Weird. Good, but weird. :)

• Saskia D

  
  My first Bergman film! I was impressed! It's sooo... fresh? I really don't know another way to describe it... it doesn't seem to have any restrictions. Very intimate because of the close-ups, but the characters are inaccessible as well. Vague, I know, but I'm… More
  My first Bergman film! I was impressed! It's sooo... fresh? I really don't know another way to describe it... it doesn't seem to have any restrictions. Very intimate because of the close-ups, but the characters are inaccessible as well. Vague, I know, but I'm still processing it, so maybe I'll say something useful and intelligible about it later. <div style="width:451px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com/movie/persona/photos?p=4365981"><img src="http://content7.flixster.com/photo/43/65/98/4365981_gal.jpg" border="0"/></a><div style="text-align:center;font-size:10px;"><a href="http://www.flixster.com">

• Emily A

  
  The thing about Ingmar Bergman is that I really don't think he cares whether or not you understand his movies. But sometimes he should. I really like this movie, but for the life of me I couldn't explain what Bergman was trying to get at. The thing about Persona that kept my… More
  The thing about Ingmar Bergman is that I really don't think he cares whether or not you understand his movies. But sometimes he should. I really like this movie, but for the life of me I couldn't explain what Bergman was trying to get at. The thing about Persona that kept my attention was Bibi Andersson, a beautiful and talented actress delivering interesting dialogue. Not much story to speak of, but Andersson crafts a very engaging and complex character, and that is essentially the force that drives the film. There are times when it would seem that the film is trying to do something more complex with its characters then it had the will to do - that half-asses identity switching twist - but the film did not suffer too greatly for it.

• Luke B

  
  Bergman has many wonderful musings to explore here but fails to develop a character or story interesting enough to present them. I find that presentation is the key and is something David Lynch pulls off brilliantly even in times of confusion. Film can be an artistic expression but it… More
  Bergman has many wonderful musings to explore here but fails to develop a character or story interesting enough to present them. I find that presentation is the key and is something David Lynch pulls off brilliantly even in times of confusion. Film can be an artistic expression but it should also be interesting. Bergman's other films are beautifully constructed, but Persona is such a grim and emotionless tale it's hard to really analyse what Bergman was trying to do or say. For myself this was a rare misstep from a brilliant film maker. Though the performances were wonderfully handled and the photography was stunning.

• Stella D

  
  umm wow. it's been much copied but still makes an impact. the deconstructionist style effectively alienates the viewer but it's also fascinating to watch. very heavy. i wonder how much of this was inspired by bergman's affairs with both women, who were best friends… More
  umm wow. it's been much copied but still makes an impact. the deconstructionist style effectively alienates the viewer but it's also fascinating to watch. very heavy. i wonder how much of this was inspired by bergman's affairs with both women, who were best friends as well!

• Ken S

  
  It's like Mullholand Drive meets Fight Club with Swedish chicks

• Pierluigi P

  
  Intense, strange and stunning. beautiful pair of actresses, dazzling cinematography, bizarre and compelling subject.

• Christopher M

  
  A very, very interesting and powerful film about an peculiar and intense relationship formed between a recovering actress and her nurse, who both find their personalities melding in some way. This is probably the most psychologically immense film I've ever seen, and it's… More
  A very, very interesting and powerful film about an peculiar and intense relationship formed between a recovering actress and her nurse, who both find their personalities melding in some way. This is probably the most psychologically immense film I've ever seen, and it's filmed beautifully, with striking imagery throughout. Bergman is a master and this is clearly one of best films. It's an arthouse classic, and rightfully so.

• Dillon L

  
  I don't even know what say about this movie without sounding like an ass. Suffice to say, it's fascinating and surrealistic. Although I still think Bergman's other film Seventh Seal is superior.

• George M

  
  One of the most profoundly erotic films, if not the most erotic, in the history of cinema. That is because it understands that eroticism is a much broader concept than any representation of sex, or even touch; it is about dominance and submission, exposition of the soul. Eroticism is… More
  One of the most profoundly erotic films, if not the most erotic, in the history of cinema. That is because it understands that eroticism is a much broader concept than any representation of sex, or even touch; it is about dominance and submission, exposition of the soul. Eroticism is thus linked with existential issues and the problems of human relations as much exposure of one's weakness to the other (or should I say the Other?) can lead to resentment; on the other hand, the strong or dominant sustains his power by feeding on this exposure like a vampire. However, the power relations can change any moment exactly because the concept of power relies on something that submits to it. The film pushes ambiguity and experimentalism to the limit, with a zenith being the celebrated fusion of the faces of the two actresses. I cannot imagine a film that goes beyond this limit and sustain coherence. Still, all the experimental aspects are so well contained in this film almost as if it was a classical piece. The performances are suberb. The scene in which Bibi Andersson tells about the orgy to Liv Ullman is one of the highlights in the acting. The cinematography is a great achievement in its precise, almost minimalistic, way of conveying its object (mise-en-scene helps here too - look at the bare white walls of the hospital for example). It goes further, by using cinematograohic 'dissonances' such as out of focus in order to create new meanings. The whole film conveys, more than any other maybe, the feeling of raw nakedness, the laying bare of the human soul and the bitterness that follows; it is like a reinstatement of Schoppenhauer's hedgehog's dillema. Bergman achieved his peak with this film (though he came close to it again later with Cries and Whispers) which is also one of the peaks of world cinema.

• Bryce I

  
  As a movie, it is no where close to understandable. So much so, it's hard to be called poetic. But as a film, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. And as art, it redefines the meaning. This is Ingmar Bergman at his most poetic. Although it is his most challenging, and… More
  As a movie, it is no where close to understandable. So much so, it's hard to be called poetic. But as a film, it is nothing short of a masterpiece. And as art, it redefines the meaning. This is Ingmar Bergman at his most poetic. Although it is his most challenging, and thought-provoking film, that may be why it remains a classic after all these years. How can you describe a film by Ingmar Bergman without calling it genius. His cinematography, his writing and the way he presents it all make the film something that only he can deliver correctly. How the films suspense can be delivered by close-ups and silence will never be the same. And to think that one of his best films was only an experimental one makes it even more of a shock than the film itself.

• Mike T

  
  Ingmar Bergman conveys the most unspoken elements of the human mind with intimacy and vision, bringing about a vivid cinematic poem that I will not soon forget. As important as this film's subtext and psychoanalytical content is its gorgeous, sometimes disturbing metaphorical… More
  Ingmar Bergman conveys the most unspoken elements of the human mind with intimacy and vision, bringing about a vivid cinematic poem that I will not soon forget. As important as this film's subtext and psychoanalytical content is its gorgeous, sometimes disturbing metaphorical imagery. Bergman utilizes every tool he has as a filmmaker, and the result is a piece of art that works simply as an experience, but also as a resonant examination of tortured minds.

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