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 #190 | 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 | sex on beach | sex talk | torn photograph | 

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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

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #701.

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Quotes

Sister Alma: Anaesthetise me... throw me away! No, I can't, I can't take any more! Leave me alone! It's shame, it's all shame! Leave me alone! I'm cold and rotten and indifferent! It's all just lies and imitation, all of it!

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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 Homestarrunner.com: Everything Else, Volume 1 (2005)

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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

Liv Ulmann's smile

Profound studie of the human psyche. Honest story about nooks of existence and vain hopes. Anatomy of helplessness and deep solitude. Life as convention, mask for feelings and expectations.

Another room of Bergman's universe. Same cruel instruments, game of flash-backs and dream sequences, visions and memories. Fight between two women as screen for interior struggle. Impact of consciences and lights of sin. Illness like armour against fake images and empty future. Confesions like way to be yourself. Like cries suffocates by silence of the other.

Story about refuse and cages. About dreams and disillusions. About chaotic values and flavour of extinction. People as rabbits for experiments. The other like sign of salvation. And the question of soul.

"Persona" is an act of confrontation between Ingmar Bergman and God. The silence, the cruelty of letters, the cries and the confessions of Alma are only guns in a strange and ambiguous war. So, any film of this great director is a religious personal answer to permanent subtle fear. In this case, the shadow of divine presence is the Liv Ulmann smile.