Persona

Rating:
Summary: Striking and Enigmatic Visual Poetry
Review: "Persona" is the equivalent of cinematic poetry, and like many poems, it relies on striking visual imagery and symbolism to convey its meaning (or meaninglessness) rather than the conventional, linear narative of most films. While hauntingly beautiful, "Persona" is clearly open to interpretation, as many great poems are. The film is a frustrating, paradoxical enigma, but leaves the viewer breathless with its dazzling images and thought provoking "silences".

The paradox at the heart of the film involves the together yet separate place in which these two women find themselves. How can two people, two personalities, two entities be so merged yet so apart?

On a universal level, one could venture that the two women represent the ever-present duality in both man and nature; forces that are inter-related, yet so separate from each other: good vs. evil, the belief in God vs. the meaninglessness of existence (or as Aristotle might have phrased it: creation in time vs. the eternity of the universe) or love vs hate (among the many dueling dualities in the universe). The reason that these two women can never really merge is that the universal battling of conflicting forces could never allow it. Confliciting forces will always be separate, as hard as they try to connect or compromise.

On a personal level, the two women represent the vast abyss that separates one person from the other. As hard as we try to understand each other, the human psyche is a nearly inpenatrable puzzle that defies trite pschological categories. Because life is basically a stage, we are forced to play roles that are set up by other's expectations, fears and desires that don't necessarily reflect our true selves. The camera is always on, as the film implies, and we are are rarely free to be ouselves,if we are even able to discern who we are underneath the many masks that we wear. We are like "marionettes" with others pulling the strings of our personalities for us. For Bergmann, it seems, all relationships (husband/wife, parent/child, etc.) are doomed to failure. No matter how close we are able to get to each other, we will always be separate, with false and misleading notions (that we have created ouselves) of who the other person is.

From the above discussion, it is clear that the film is enormously complex. (I have not even begun to touch on all the elements of the film- that would take volumes.) Almost any other interpretation of the film would be equally valid. That is the daunting challenge and huge joy of this film. The meaning of beautifully symbolic poetry is often hard to penetrate. The effort, however, is worth it, so that we may learn about ourselves, about our relationship to others, and about our relationship to the universal forces.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: This is a truly outstanding film. After viewing this film one is much more confused than before seeing it. Of course, the interest in the film is to be able to say what it is about.

This is a truly philosophical film, especially existentialist in a Sartrean fashion, in which the self is in dialogue with itself. It is difficult to say if there are two women in the film talking to each other, or just one woman talking to her own self (conscience).

I also think the film is about the inadequacy to conceptually represent that which happens at the consciousness level that can only be shown. This is quite likely the reason we just cannot say what this film is about.

This film is a true work of art that will have that status for centuries to come.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, get the MGM version
Review: MGM has a much better transfer, and more user-friendly subtitles. The most famous shot of the movie (shows up on the box cover of both versions) barely even shows up in the other version. Short of a much-anticipated DVD release of this, the MGM version at least tries to come close. A movie of this kind of beauty doesn't deserve any less than optimal viewing conditions. If you are a Bergman buff or something, though, you might get both editions to compare and contrast (e.g., the subtitle content). (Please note, folks: the average rating of this has been dragged down by low votes for the non-MGM version; I think almost all agree that the film itself is a 5-star affair.)

Rating:
Summary: Classic movie, poor subtitling...
Review: My only complaint with this release of Ingmar Bergman's Persona is that the white-colored subtitles are oftentimes partially or completely obscured because of the severe white backgrounds in a number of the movie's scenes. I am told that the subtitles are from the original American release of the film.

In any case, it would probably be best to go with the MGM release since it has yellow-colored subtitles.

Rating:
Summary: An Uneasy Existential Dream; Perhaps Bergman's Finest
Review: PERSONA may well be Ingmar Bergman's most complex film--yet, like many Bergman films, the story it tells is superficially simple. Actress Elizabeth Volger has suddenly stopped speaking in what appears to be an effort to cease all communication with the external world. She is taken to a hospital, where nurse Alma is assigned to care for her. After some time, Elisabeth's doctor feels the hospital is of little use to her; the doctor accordingly lends her seaside home to Elisabeth, who goes there with Alma in attendance. Although Elisabeth remains silent, the relationship between the women is a pleasant one--until a rainy day, too much alcohol, and Elisabeth's silence drives Alma into a series of highly charged personal revelations.

It is at this point that the film, which has already be super-saturated with complex visual imagery, begins to create an unnerving and deeply existential portrait of how we interpret others, how others interpret us, and the impact that these interpretations have upon both us and them. What at first seemed fond glances and friendly gestures from the silent Elisabeth are now suddenly open to different interpretations, and Alma--feeling increasingly trapped by the silence--enters into a series of confrontations with her patient... but these confrontations have a dreamlike quality, and it becomes impossible to know if they are real or imagined--and if imagined, in which of the women's minds the fantasy occurs.

Ultimately, Bergman seems to be creating a situation in which we are forced to acknowledge that a great deal of what we believe we know about each other rests largely upon what we ourselves project upon them. Elisabeth's face and its expressions become akin to a blank screen on which we see our own hopes, dreams, torments, and tragedies projected--while the person behind the face constantly eludes our understanding. In this respect, the theme is remarkably well-suited to its medium: the blankness of the cinema screen with its flickering, endless shifting images that can be interpreted in infinite ways.

Bergman is exceptionally fortunate in his actresses here: both Liv Ullman as the silent Elisabeth and Bibi Anderson as the increasingly distraught Alma offer incredible performances that seem to encompass both what we know from the obvious surface and what we can never know that exists behind their individual masks. Ullman has been justly praised for the power of her silence in this film, and it is difficult to imagine another actress who could carry off a role that must be performed entirely by ambigious implications. Anderson is likewise remarkable, her increasing levels of emotional distress resounding like the waves upon the rocks at their seaside retreat. And Bergman and his celebrated cinematographer Sven Nykvist fill the screen with a dreamlike quality that is constantly interrupted by unexpected images ranging from glimpses of silent films to a moment at which the celluloid appears to burn to images that merge Ullman and Anderson's faces into one.

As in many of his films, Bergman seems to be stating that we cannot know another person, and that our inability to know is our greatest tragedy. But however the film is interpreted, it is a stunning and powerful achievement, one that will resonate with the viewer long after the film ends. On a technical note, I recommend the MGM video release (and am astonished that the film is not available on DVD as yet); although the subtitles have moments of what is clearly poor translation, they are easy to read. I cannot recommend this film too strongly.

Rating:
Summary: Response to Mudville
Review: This has been my favorite of all movies for a long time. To answer the Mudville fan, a lot is possible in this film and a symbolic murder of the actress Elizabet is very possible. A literal one, I don't think so. But who knows?
The woman you see being filmed is Elizabet, presumably back working, though it's intersting the two people filming her are Persona's director and cinematographer, Bergman and Sven Nykvist. It's also interesting she's filmed upside down, just like the dead woman in the opening morgue sequence who suddenly opens her eyes.<...

Rating:
Summary: An opinion and a question
Review: Although I don't find this movie quite as awe inspiring as other reviewers here, I'm certainly not going to argue it's not great film making. I found it perhaps just a little too much of an intellectual puzzle; Cries and Whispers (my personal Bergman favorite) I find to be more sensually involving, even more philosophically probing (because it is less intellectual, more human). Well--it's an opinion; feel free to disagree. Now here's the question: What the heck is going on in this film's final scene? First we see the nurse as she sees the actress packing. Then we see no more of the actress, but continue to see the nurse packing up and catching the bus for home. Then a quick shot of cameras in the process of filming, and a glimpse of a woman being filmed; who she is, what she's doing, I cannot tell. After having seen the nurse convince the actress to speak that one fatal word, "Nothing," I was left wondering if perhaps the nurse had, in the end, committed murder? Perhaps this is an absurd conclusion to reach--perhaps the actress had already left and that's her we catch a glimpse of, having returned to being an actress again? Or perhaps she's symbolically dead? I dunno--but here you have my problem with the film: as an intellectual puzzle, I find it impossible to satisfactorily solve. I don't mind chewing on intellectual PROBLEMS for months and years on end--that's what life's about. But PUZZLES it seems to me ought to have solutions. Anybody got one?

Rating:
Summary: More than a masterpeice
Review: I hear of all his pictures, Persona is Bergman's personal favorite, which I like, because it's my favorite also. Persona is filled with the poignant imagery and symbolism that is the Bergman style that has made him the darling of artsy types worldwide, but more than that, it is simply genius directing and intense acting that makes Persona one of the most memorable films I have ever seen. Moments of it just stay in the viewer's head forever. The famous scene of Ullmann and Anderson loosely holding each other, looking forward, watching something beyond the camera lens, has been imitated by hundreds who tried but failed to equal the emotion this scene wells up in the audience. Persona eases the viewer into two tortured souls who bond in an indefinable way and then find themselves incompatible. Anyone who thinks they can watch this and remain untouched has yet to dive into the Persona's depths. For today's new generation of movie buffs to write this film off would be tragic, as echoes of this film can be found in many of the best movies of the last decade, particularly Lynch's Mulholand Drive.

Rating:
Summary: Broken Mirrors
Review: "Persona" is by far one of the most complex films ever fabricated in cinema. Like all Ingmar Bergman films, "Persona" challenges the viewer's thoughts of reason and reality. Made in 1967, this still remains to this day, the most haunting and confusing film on self-identity and the duality we have as human beings. Some might find the overlay of the movie too cynical maybe, but only because Bergman so purposely shows us our contradictory natures. Both character leads played by Bergman regulars Liv Ullman and Bibi Anderson give stunning performances, as usual. It's really amazing how well both women played such difficult roles, Ullman's character doesn't speak one line throughout the film and Anderson so captures all the different moods with an almost too realistic touch. Recommended to only serious movie-goers, Bergman fans, art house, foreign film fans, and those who can handle disturbing commentaries on self reflection.

Rating:
Summary: the best beach movie ever! cowabunga, party animals!
Review: I love this film. You will too. It is the best beach movie you'll ever see. And these two deb's have the whole beach to themselves!

Fate threw this fun duo together at the hospital. Of all places! Realising that they were born to party down with each other, off they go to an island beach-house. But trouble was to come, as the blonde one talks so much, the moody dark-haired member of the Spring Break Twins can't get a word in edgeways.

So moody Elizabeth sends off some revealing letters . Confidences are broken. And blondie intercepts them. Then party time breaks up for awhile, as the you-know-what hits the fan! And believe you me, these kittens can fight as well as they can boogie! Tura Satana, move over!

When the dust settles, the two friends-til-the-end come to a realization. They have come to know each other a little too well. In fact, they can't seem to tell each other apart!

Talk about the Twins from Hell! At that point, blondie wakes up one day to a new life. She straightens a few pillows regretfully, symbolic of having done her duty. Then she takes the next bus out. Fun is fun, but we all have to grow up. And when the Beach Blanket Schizophrenia fully blooms, you know somebody's got to call it quits.

You'll learn how to party from this show. You'll learn how to cry. You'll learn how to live through the fun with the aid of your dreams, daymares, fantasies. And how to leave them all for a new life, sadder but wiser. And you'll be shown all this by a couple of experts, directed by a genius.

Don't miss this coming-of-age film. It'll guide you to a new understanding of relationship. Get your own copy for regular re-viewing. You need to rewatch this at intervals. Although, you'll never fully master its contents. . .

. . .and that's part of its message.