Persona (1966)

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

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (story)

Stars:

Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook

Top 250 #184 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer. Alma eventually confesses her secrets to a seemingly sympathetic Elisabeth and finds that her own personality is being submerged into Elisabeth's persona.

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Plot Keywords:

actress | nurse | medical | beach | silence | 

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Taglines:

A new film by Ingmar Bergman

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

16 March 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Персона

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

Svensk Filmindustri (SF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

AGA Sound System

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

Sister Alma: What are you hiding under your hand? Let me see. It's the photo of your little boy. The one you tore up. We must talk about it. Tell me about it, Elisabet. Then I will. lt was one night at a party, isn't that right? It got late and quite rowdy. Towards morning someone in the group said: "Elisabet, you virtually have it all in your armoury as woman and artist. But you lack motherliness." You laughed because you thought it sounded silly. But after a while you noticed you thought about what he'd ...

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Connections

Referenced in UPA! Una película argentina (2007)
Fernando continually reads Bergman's script. Plus, in the end, Nina and Hildegunn pose like Elisabeth and Alma.

User Reviews

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).