Persona
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Movie Reviews of Persona
Movie Review: Experimental concision
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the most experimental film Bergman made, coming as it does at a radical time in the 60s when things were changing. This covers all the main themes Bergman would cover:the nature of art,the artist,the themes of the difficulty of communication,the imagination and the unconscious and the nature of love. This film is not necessarily about women,although he uses two of his greatest actresses to enact the film's ideas.First of all, the film starts off in a way never before seen in Bergman with a succesion of strange images:a sheep's throat being cut,an erect member,a priest setting himself alight and several more. Then we get a moment, when the nature of the medium,celluloid is exposed as the film burns.You have to remember too Bergman was at a low point in his life and his faith in the nature of art, needed reviving and this film provides a kind axis between his earlier and later films. Liv Ullman,the actress, has lost the ability to express herself, due to being overcome by the sheer horror of reality. The nurse has been given the role of rehabilitating her, but the nurse has issues herself and displays counter-transference, so that she becomes dependent on the silent, but watchful patient..The high point is when the two women's identities merge in a symbiosis of each side of their faces:two become one.Within the context of the film this makes sense on a subconscious level.The artist is in communion with the nurse and a form of transubstiation of reality occurs on a personal level.This is the model of economy,simple sets,simple cutting,like a Japanese haiku, but an intensely Northern European work of art.
Movie Review: C'est Magnifique!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was blown away by Persona. There is really no words to truly describe the haunting, poetic, and erotic mood, feeling, and plot of this entire film and it's two exemplary female characters. This is truly a visual feast, at times cringing, beautiful, haunting, sad, erotic, and at the end, profound. This is a film that will truly make you think. For instance, the boy in the beginning can symbolize two things: Elisabeth's neglected child, or Alma's unborn child. And of course, the most haunting scene in cinema is when Alma, dressed in the same black clothing as Elisabeth, talks about Elisabeth's neglection of motherhood and marriage, while to some degree she's talking about her own naive view on both of these topics. Then, at the end, both of their faces emerge, exemplifying the exploration of a psychoanalysis breaking into subtle madness! That scene will always remain in my mind, it's so haunting in a deep and profound way. This film truly has the immense emotion and intensity that is highly rare in movies today. The end is even just as profound when we are back at the scene with the boy watching a screen of what appears to be the face of Elisabeth (or Alma? Both?), but then the reel breaks apart, and then the light that was lit in the beginning of the film suddenly fades into darkness. If you want to watch a film that is not cliche and predictable, watch PERSONA. But beware, a film like this should be watched with an OPEN MIND. If you look at it too seriously, or not seriously enough, you won't get the point and will lose the purpose and the meaning that this film has represented. Truly a masterpiece of cinema.Movie Review: Ghost Story...
Summary: 5 Stars
Persona is probably my favorite Ingmar Bergman film. Watching it again, I now realize that it is a ghost story. Were ever characters more haunted than Bergman's? Everything about the film is eerie, especially the music. Everything has the feel of a horror film, even though nothing "scary" actually happens. The horror is of Being and Nothingness. Persona does what so much of horror literature attempts - undermine our conceptions of what is real. Bergman is not content to do only that - he undermines the conventions of moviemaking as well: half-way through the movie, the film breaks and needs to be re-started.
It is almost impossible to summarize the "plot." Liv Ullman's character decides to stop talking. She is sent to a summer home in care of a nurse - Bibi Anderson. Gradually, the two personalities begin to merge until we realize that there may have only been one person in the house to begin with.
Persona is an art film if ever there was one. It stands next to 2001: A Space Odyssey as one of the great experimental pictures of the 1960's. It contains one of the most erotic scenes in cinema, even though there is no nudity. It foreshadows a new era of filmmaking.
The DVD transfer is pristine, however it is NOT letterboxed. For some reason the subtitles remain white, instead of the more user-friendly yellow. There is also an invaluable featurette on the making of the film with interviews of all the principals, including Bergman. A must for any serious DVD collection.
Movie Review: Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson are AWESOME!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never quite been into foreign films, but I decided to check out 'Persona' because it has been associated with one of my favorite films, Robert Altman's '3 Women.' I was frequently told by other film buffs, "If you like '3 Women,' you'll really like 'Persona.'"They were right, for I was completely blown away by this Bergman masterpiece. 'Persona' is a powerhouse of emotions, and the acting is superb. Liv Ullmann's silence is extremely compelling, for her nonverbal communication conveys a whole lot more than any dialogue could relate! Bibi Andersson's performance is heart-wrenching at times, for her persistance and confusion draws the viewer into her corner like a spider caught in a web.
As far as Ingmar Bergman, I am now a dedicated fan of his films after viewing 'Persona.' There were a few bits during the opening montage that made me wince (beware!), but after seeing the entire film, I can understand why they were there. In addition, the visual look of some of the key scenes are among the most breathtaking I have ever seen in a film, such as the one where Liv almost floats into Bibi's room like a Nordic goddess.
Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Ingmar Bergman, arthouse cinema or films about the psychology of relationships.
Movie Review: One of the five Bergman's gems
Summary: 5 Stars
Bergman begins the film with a shocking image, that constitutes one of the keys to make us drown in this bergmanian ocean.Persona is the film in which Liv Ullman makes his actoral debut. And what kind of performance! .
In her role of nurse, she tries to get some rapport with Bibi Anderson who is literally shocked by a awful TV scene, previous to her characterization as Elektra.
Andrei Tarkovski, considered this film the best of Bergman. Somehow, the opening scene of "The mirror" , Tarkovski pays a sincere homagge to Bergman. Watch it and link with Persona.
Returning with Persona, the film is the recosntruction of a disordered puzzle of hidden emotions and feelings of the opera singer. The deep admiration of the nurse by this artist, engages her in a commitment that goes beyond her mission.
You can watch how slowly this troubled soul shows before us with all its ugliness . The speechs are so well written that let you breathtaken, the photography and ilumination are the third actor , the camera work is so nervous like the same artist.
But when you arrive to the peak of the film and admire that melt of images, you'll check once more why Bergman (1918) is one the supreme film makers of all the Cinema story.