Review of Persona (1966) by Ron H — 06 Jun 2009

I know it's a little pointless to espouse the virtues of a great Ingmar Bergman movie, but this is one great Ingmar Bergman movie. It must have had a huge influence on David Lynch and even Fight Club stole the quick penis joke out of the beginning montage.

While this does come off as a mostly symbolic and artsy flick, the real meat of the story is the relationship between the two lead actresses, one silent, the other definitely not. Bibi Andersson has a long and really great speech right in the middle that kept me held on every word.

Her short blonde hair and thick framed glasses in black and white are sexiness defined. I think a considerable argument could be made that one of these characters only exists in the mind of the other, but which is a little harder to say.

I only docked a star because of a really long monologue towards the end, that while interesting, we are forced to sit through it twice. I understand the artistic intention of the sequence, but I was growing restless at that point.

Overall though, the film is a lean 80 something minutes and a beautifully shot story that has kept me thinking for a good week since I've seen it. A absolute must for Bergman or David Lynch fans.