Persona
BFI #18
Rent/Purchase
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.
What critics thought
Widely regarded as one of cinema's supreme achievements and a strong candidate for Bergman's best work, Persona earns its reputation through the searing double performance at its center and the film's relentless formal experimentation. The main point of debate is not quality but accessibility — critics tend to agree it is demanding, and occasionally split over whether its experimental conceits are genuinely novel or merely difficult, and whether the deliberate opacity rewards repeated viewing or tips into pretension.
“There is no denying the absorbing theme and the perfection in direction, acting, editing and lensing”
Variety
“a difficult, frustrating film”
Roger Ebert·Rogerebert.com
“a devastating treatise on mortal and intellectual impotence”
David Parkinson·Empire
“not an easy film, but an infinitely rewarding one”
Time Out
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorIngmar Bergman
StarringBibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand, Jörgen Lindström
ComposerLars Johan Werle
Persona
BFI #18
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.
What critics thought
Widely regarded as one of cinema's supreme achievements and a strong candidate for Bergman's best work, Persona earns its reputation through the searing double performance at its center and the film's relentless formal experimentation. The main point of debate is not quality but accessibility — critics tend to agree it is demanding, and occasionally split over whether its experimental conceits are genuinely novel or merely difficult, and whether the deliberate opacity rewards repeated viewing or tips into pretension.
“There is no denying the absorbing theme and the perfection in direction, acting, editing and lensing”
Variety
“a difficult, frustrating film”
Roger Ebert·Rogerebert.com
“a devastating treatise on mortal and intellectual impotence”
David Parkinson·Empire
“not an easy film, but an infinitely rewarding one”
Time Out
Genres
Drama, Thriller
Cast & Crew
DirectorIngmar Bergman
StarringBibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand, Jörgen Lindström
ComposerLars Johan Werle
Rent/Purchase