Review of Persona (2008) by Jeff H — 02 May 2008

A sublime work of art by one of cinema's greatest pairings, writer/director Ingmar Bergman and cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Let's not forget either the stars of this grim and disorientating psychological tete-a-tete, Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman, the mental health nurse and the mute actress who, in the wake of said actress's nervous breakdown, live together in a secluded recovery house and open up between them a world of personal secrets and questions about identity, self-knowledge and the roles we play in life. "To thine own self be true," Polonius counselled Laertes, but how can you if you don't know who you are? Nothing is what it seems in this extraordinary character study, which also just happens to be one of the most visually arresting films ever made.

Persona is beauty. Persona is genius. I cannot praise it enough.