Review of Persona (1966) by Georgieboy M — 29 Aug 2011

"Persona" is always called Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece. While I've seen so many amazing Bergman's, never has one made such an impression on me before. This is known for being one of the best photographed films, which uses the director's favorite cinematographer Sven Nyqvist who does a superb job.

With natural lighting and many gorgeous takes on close-ups, Nyqvist does everything possible to make every scene seem as dark as possible. But back to the director--with Bergman, I always expect his movies to make me think, they all do.

But this isn't a movie. It's a film. It's a dramatic statement, but when you see "Persona" for yourself, you'll understand what I mean. Usually his movies have a premise worth arguing about, like religion, but there is no message to tell with this film.

Instead, it's just a surreal psychological dramatic mystery that leaves many things unexplained and keeps you wondering way after the film has finished (no, it's not some lesbian romance movie like the DVD picture portrays).

Bergman does something unique, and at the beginning, he shows (what they call a "prelude") a set of unrelated images that are very very strange. Some of them are solved in the film, but some of them are not.

Half of this is the mystery, and the other half is the strange way how Elizabet (Ullmann) and Alma (Andersson) connect psychologically. I was wondering, "could this really happen"? The characters are portrayed to perfection by two of (some of) Sweden's best actresses, Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson.

Ullmann's performance is so effective even without speaking, while Andersson impresses so considering the fact she speaks almost every line. They both are perfect, but somehow they even leave something out of their performances, that makes the mystery grow even larger.

"Persona" is one of the most unique, thought provoking films I've even seen, if not the most. This is Bergman's best work. Highly recommended.