Review of Persona (1966) by Daniel D — 17 Jul 2012

Ingmar Bergmans Persona is one of the finest films I've ever seen. Before watching this someone told me that he liked it better the second time around, if I like it anymore the second time around then Ill have a new favorite film. The film began with a series of multiple ultra violent clips. Ranging from the slaughtering of a lamb to a tarantula. This strange opening got you ready for what's to come in this film. The basic plot is a young nurse who's taking care of an actress, who has chose not to speak for unknown reasons. They go to a summer house in the middle of nowhere together, that's where it all begins.

This film is a piece of art. It is Dante's Inferno of cinema. Its a gallery of Jan van Eyck in motion. This is one of the few movies that defines what film is. Especially when we go into the art house portion of cinema. Ingmar Bergman made it very clear that this is art. That this isn't real. He did this by reminding everyone it's a movie. Similar things have been done in the future, like in Grindhouse for example but no one did it like Bergman did. There was a shot in this movie of Bergman and his crew filming a scene. There was a moment when there was an effect of the shooting reel burning. To add on to the artistic effect, Bergman only used what he absolutely needed. Only five characters, and only props that were used by the characters were shown in the film. This wasn't just a movie, it was art at its finest point.

Potential spoilers ahead. As this film carried on it became clear that the nurse was gonna have the personality of the actress. Now what I loved is this wasn't really what happened. It was a physiological merge. At one moment the nurse is saying the actresses life story, the next she is yelling "No I am not you!". They never became one. This is what made it so Ming boggling. As mind boggling as Donnie Darko, Eraserhead, 2001: A Space Odyssey, it ranks amongst these great films. And I would rank it amongst my five favorites. It truly is a piece of art.

5 stars.