Persona (1966)

A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.

Director:

Ingmar Bergman

Writer:

Ingmar Bergman (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook

Top Rated Movies #196 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bibi Andersson	...	Alma
Liv Ullmann	...	Elisabet Vogler
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:

silence | patient | mute character | intercepted letter | sex on beach | 

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Taglines:

A new film by Ingmar Bergman

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish English

Release Date:

16 March 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Persona

Filming Locations:

Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,142

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Aurora, 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

Although the age of boys Alma and her friend had sex with on the beach is never stated, the script specifies their ages as 13 and 16.

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Quotes

The Doctor: I understand, all right. The hopeless dream of being - not seeming, but being. At every waking moment, alert. The gulf between what you are with others and what you are alone. The vertigo and the constant hunger to be exposed, to be seen through, perhaps even wiped out. Every inflection and every gesture a lie, every smile a grimace. Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move, refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie. You can shut yourself in. Then you needn't play any parts or ...

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Alternate Versions

The American version, released by United Artists, omits a brief close-up shot of an erect penis from the film's pre-credit collage.

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Connections

Referenced in The Jealous Sea (2018)

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Soundtracks

Adagio from Concerto No. 2 in E major for Violin, Strings and Continuo, BWV 1042
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

Absolute masterpiece

What can I say? It is an absolute masterpiece in some aspects bringing reminiscences of antic tragedies (in terms of gestures mostly - vide Maria Callas in Pasolini's Medea). But most of all this movie, as almost all Bergman's movies, touches humanity of a man and asks us questions that hardly none of directors was able to present in such a clear manner. The story can be read in many ways, but for me the symbolic one is probably the most fruitful. Persona, the face, mask, in a physical meaning as used in Greek tragedies, the way to become someone else, depict and reenact myths. On higher level, symbolic meaning of persona in Jung's psychology together with all his theories about ego. Simply, a 100% must see for every thinking man.