- Playing with your mind for two hours
I'll admit that when I first sat down
to watch Persona, I hadn't watched any Ingmar Bergman movies nor had
I any idea who that was. So when I first sat down to watch Persona
the only thing I knew was that it shared its name with a video game
and that was all. So calling me an unknowing viewer was probably an
understatement. Of course now, some two years later I have watched
more Bergman movies due to again the IMDb Top 250 and have been ever
so pleased with what I have seen from him. It is my opinion that
Persona is the best work I have seen by him thus far (The Seventh
Sign and Wild Strawberries).
There are a couple versions of Persona
since its original release in 1966; the original and a 2004
remastered version are the more important ones, however, with more
accurate subtitles (in the 2004 version) and a few uncut sequences in
both. Included in the uncut version is the nudity shot in the
original that, although brief, is symbolic. Along with that is a
description of a rather risqué nature, in which age is of
importance, which is also taken out in some versions. While it's
still a noteworthy speech within the confines of the movie, adding in
the ages makes it that much more questionable and thus gives better
reason to impact the character. So keep that in mind if you have to
watch the edited version.
After a rather strange prologue to the
movie showing some bizarre imagery (including an erect penis should
you have gotten any uncut version) you will find yourself finding out
about a nurse, Sister Alma (played by Bibi Andersson) who has been
given the instructions to take care of the self-imposed mute actress
Elisabeth (played by Liv Ullmann). Alma keeps Elizabeth company,
talks a lot to her patient and keeps the flow from dragging on for
the most part. It's all quite the build-up for the later acts you
see. Persona is a complicated movie. It's not that the dialogue is
complicated or the story is told in a non-linear fashion like some
other films. It is just that sometimes what you see really isn't
what you are getting and one could be fooled long past the credits
have ended their ascension. I could take up the entire blog for the
remainder of the year to fully explain my thoughts on this movie or
explain everything. I don't believe I can do it justice anyway, so go
out and see it for yourself!
Persona only has five characters in the
entire movie, most of which have only a few lines and in some cases
aren't even on screen for more than twenty seconds. So it really is
up to Andersson and Ullmann to properly carry the movie, which they
do stunningly. Liv Ullmann playing a self-imposed mute does a
wonderful job of emoting through her facial features while Bibi
Andersson gets to talk quite a bit more and doesn't fall short on
emotions.
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| This is what I call "judge-y eyes" |
The story will leave you with questions
all throughout the acts but as the final scenes transpire you'll find
that all the pieces of the puzzle have just dropped in your lap and
if you can put them all together you'll find out that you just
watched one hell of a movie. I really liked some of the later
sequences camera angles, it's certainly something to ponder after the
fact, I'm still pretty impressed by the chilling shots late movie.
I give this movie a 9/10
IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (28,054 Votes)
PS: The merging of two characters faces
has been widely reproduced but never as convincingly.
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