Persona

Persona
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Written by Ingmar Bergman
1966/Sweden
Aurora/Svensk Filmindustri
First viewing/Amazon Instant
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Sister Alma: If she won’t speak or move because she decides not to, which it must be if she isn’t ill, then it shows that she is mentally very strong. I might not be equal to it.[/box]

Ingmar Bergman’s best film?  Gorgeous, haunting, and baffling.

Nurse Sister Alma (Bibi Andersson) is assigned to care for famous actress Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullman).  Elisabet has stopped talking or moving.  According to her doctor, she is in perfect physical and mental health.  The two get acquainted at the hospital.  The story picks up speed when the doctor offers the two her beachside summer place.

The setting and the mood is blissful.  Alma finds an apparently very willing listener in Elisabet and starts to pour out her heart.  Then the silence begins to wear on Alma and things begin to fall apart.

I watched this twice in one day trying to wrap my head around it.  Probably it is impossible to get to the bottom of this one.  Everyone concerned was running on all cylinders and you don’t have to understand the film to be awestruck by the beauty and the great acting.  I’ve been wondering if Bergman is (among other things) doing a commentary on acting and filmmaking.  It is a wondrous thing to watch the two personae meld into one.