Persona (1966)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (story)

Release Date:

16 March 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Previously unseen Director's Cut

Plot:

A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can't talk and finds that the actress's persona is melding with hers.

Plot Keywords:

Nurse | Actress | Psychiatry | Identity Swapping | Breaking The Fourth Wall

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

Bibi Andersson	...	Alma, The Nurse
Liv Ullmann	...	Elisabeth Vogler, The Actress
Margaretha Krook	...	The Doctor
Gunnar Björnstrand	...	Mr. Vogler

Also Known As:

Kinematografi (Sweden) (working title)

Runtime:

85 min | Argentina:80 min | USA:83 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

AGA Sound System

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2004) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1967) | France:Unrated | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2002) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Trivia:

According to himself, Ingmar Bergman fell in love with Liv Ullmann during the making of the movie.

Quotes:

Sister Alma: To change oneself. My trouble is laziness.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Persona (2002) (V)

Love Poem to Liv Ullmann

There are few motion pictures that rely on bodily expression and imagery as most films depend too much on dialogue and speech. Persona(1966) is one of those raw movies that succeeds almost on a metaphysical level. Its about the relationship between an actress who broke down during a stage performance and the nurse who is assigned to take care of her. Bergman's camera has a fascination with Ullmann's figure as most of the film's closeup shots are on her. Liv Ullmann does an outstanding job in playing a character that hardly utters a line of dialogue.

There are a few scenes where the image dominates the screen in a manner that hasn't been done successfully since the silent film period. The director, Ingmar Bergman did an excellent job in presenting powerful images with the use of natural sound. Persona(1966) is a triumph of acting because both Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann are terrific in their perspective roles. There is hardly any movie music and this adds to the tension between the two women. Its a film that was deserving of a Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1966.

One scene that was wonderful is when Alma describes her life to her patient. Another excellent scene is when Mr. Vogler mistakes Alma for his wife(its as if he too has suffered a breakdown and has failed to recognize his own wife). Finally, the sequence where Alma and Mrs. Vogler's image blends together to form one person. Its an errie image because they cease to exist as individual people. Persona(1966) would influence Robert Altman very greatly when he directed the film, Three Women(1977).