Review of Persona (2000) by Reece L — 03 Sep 2014

An exploration of supreme existentialism, "Persona" documents an awareness of all of life's infuences on your personal persona, your manufactured and learned traits, habits, reactions, emotions, and a subsequent rejection of all of these things in an effort to find true self and plain existence, uninhibited by life's expectations and teachings.

It takes it a step further by blurring the lines between the audience and the film, or even film as a medium and audiences who have experienced it, with unrelated scenes intercutting into the main story and unexplained disruptions in the film reel.

This, coupled with the frequent parting of curtains, opening of doors, disruptions in the way the characters perceive each other, glimpse of film equipment, etc. convey the idea that life is a performance and nothing is truly real except pure existence, and even that may not be real, at least in the way we perceive it to be.

Bergman's film is challenging, at times overwhelming, at times shocking, but it's an undeniably fearless and always masterful work who's power and intelligence cannot be ignored or denied, and who's insight into what it means to exist as a human being is unparalleled.