Review of Persona (1966) by Tim L — 20 Sep 2009

This is the first Bergman film Ive seen and I can see why people rave about him now, because Ive never seen anything like this before.

I would say its the closest thing Ive seen to a nightmare, in that it is so disturbing and worrying, some of it making sense, some of it taking that sense and stretching it into something strange and unnerving.

He is really adept at wrenching the most primal feelings out of the viewer, whether it be disgust (I dont think Ill ever forget that horrendous real life footage of those protesting monks burning themselves alive) or intimacy and sensuality (the two women showing what seems like real affection for each other, but what actually seems to turn out as a kind of parasitic love, the one feeding off the identity of the other or at least I think thats what happens, its rather confusing this film! Ha).

I also like the way in which the film seems to look out at the viewer at times, such as the boy at the beginning, staring out at a huge blurred face on what seems like the wrong side (I.E the viewers side) of the cinema screen), or the mute woman staring out at you with those huge, beautifully melancholic eyes.

All in all a very disturbing but intriguing film, that is unlike anything I have ever seen before.