Ingmar Bergman himself said that this film saved his
life.
And even later admitted that this was his maximum.
He wrote the script in six weeks. In that time he
was hospitalized because he was suffering from pneumonia. Looking with a little
bit more attention to the film, it has some weak and indirect autobiographical
approach. Things that Bergman mentioned rarely. So "Persona" is a
kind of “getting grumble out” from the director himself.
The film begins with a turmoil of different images without any
specific meaning and unrelated to each other closely. A spider, heated iron, slaughtered
sheep, the crucified Christ and a pure erection (but this last scene has been deleted
and can be found only in a limited edition DVD of 2004).
A young boy in a room that looks like a hospital
room. There is only one bed. It is white and clean. The boy seems to feel a
foreign presence within the room. He put his glasses on. And goes back to bed. He
starts to flip Lermontov ‘s "A hero of our time". He rises from the
bed again. There appears a large screen with a feminine blurred face. The toddler
put his hand on the screen and caress the figure.
This is the entrance.
The film progress begins with a conversation between
a female doctor and a nurse (Alma). Doctor
asks Alma to care for a patient named Elisabeth
Vogler, a theater actress who became mute while she was acting as Electra, and
although all the medical tests show that she is physically and mentally very normal,
she is still mute. Alma looks confused due to the lack of experience in this
profession, but finally accepts the case.
After visiting the patient, Alma reports to the
doctor that Elizabeth at first glance seems like an innocent child, but if you
focus on her sight ... you understand that being mute is an elaborate choice,
from which our actress will not give up easily . The doctor says that it would be wise for them both to go on
the coast, at her own summer resort. So Elizabeth will continue treatment and she
will possibly recover very soon.
Elizabeth, in her hospital room, sees a TV news about
Vietnam war. Among other images , the image of a monk who is burning in public causes
to her catatonia.
Alma begins to construct a strange sort of friendship with Elisabeth
since her first visit in the patient's room. I say “strange” because one
soliloquies , and the other almost doesn’t provide any kind of response.
I can’t get out of my head this Alma’ mot: "I'm
skating on thin ice".
Now imagine the scenes. The whole black and white film. Characters
are also wearing white, black, or black and white clothes and they put no
make-up on. Great graphic contrast.
Girls arrive in the coast. Alma starts to speak for herelf.
For a married man with whom she had a five-year affair when she was studying
nursing. He was tired of her. She was in love with him. Then there comes the engagement
with Karl-Henrik (another guy). A stable job. Ready to born and raise any child
... so, everything’s alright, but ... She doesn’t continue the sentence. Here she
passes to us a sense of “null and void” in her life . A kind of lack of existence,
lack of motivation, even being in conformity with the unwritten rules of
humanity.
Elizabeth listens only. (no reaction)
Positions of the girls in the room + lighting give us
the impression that Elizabeth is acting the role of psychologist and Alma the
one of the patient.
After sipping some glasses of wine, Alma tells about
a "menage a quatre" on the sea shore, during vacations, when Karl
Henrik was working in the city. Alma, Katarina (a random girl on the beach) and
two minor boys, respectively 12 and 13 years old (but their age is not
mentioned except in that blessed one limited edition that I mentioned above).
In the evening Alma returned home and found Karl Henrik who was returned from
the journey and the two of them spent the night together. That night was
different from any other night, whether before or after that one. That nate conceived
a child within the body of Alma. She aborted the baby later.
The nurse displays signs of anxiety. She almost
falls asleep on the table. She hears Elisabeth’s voice saying: "Go to bed,
otherwise you would be falling asleep on the table!"
She goes to bed. As she sleeps, Elizabeth enters the
room. Alma wakes up. Rises on her feet. Both stand in front of the camera.
Elizabeth a bit back, almost covered by the silhouette of Alma. One touches
other’s forehead and hair. And vice versa. (Epic scene)
The next day Alma asks Elisabeth if she had spoken
to the table last night. She denies with her head. And makes the same reaction even
when Alma asks if she has been inside her room.
A small detail that I almost forgot is that Alma by the end of her long monologue repeated
often to the other girl that they both resemble too much. They are almost the
same person.
"Elisabeth, you could be me, just
like that, but your soul...would be too big...It would stick out everywhere”.
Alma does not appear less problematic than the other
(if not more).
She says that she is a good listener, but nobody
ever listens to her. She feels very well now that Elisabeth is listening to her.
And therefore I understand that Alma hasn’t shared these memories with anybody
else. Same as Bergman himself ... with his dark sides. That’s why this film was
his saver.
Anyway ... Elizabeth writes a letter to her doctor
and gives it to Alma since Alma is traveling to the city. Alma’s curiosity
pushes her to open and read the letter ... and she does not feel very well from
what she reads. According to the actress, Alma is a worth case to be studied.
There are apparent inconsistencies between her principles and her actions. She
doesn’t forget to remind the "menage a quatre".
As she returns to coast, Alma yells and screams to
the other. She threatens to burn her with hot water. Elizabeth there utters a
"NO". Alma self satisfied continues to highlight other’s hidden
cynicism. She says that her mute is a role just like her theatre roles.
Elizabeth leaves offended. And the other follows praying to forgive.
Later: Elizabeth in her room reading a book. In the
middle of the book finds a picture of Jews persecuted by Nazis. She experiences
the same condition of catatonia as in the case of the Vietnamese monk.
Closure: Alma watches the other as she sleeps. She doesn’t forget to
highlight other’s ugly freckles, those ones that the beauty never forgets to
cover.
She hears a man voice calling: Elisabeth!!!
She turns out in the yard and find the actress’ husband with blind man glasses.
He confuses her with his wife. Alma says she is not Elizabeth, but he continues.
In those moments there appears the actress who picks Alma’s hand to approve her
to continue with this misunderstand.
Alma releases to play the next role. She adds that she
miss her son too much.
Both go to bed. Elizabeth in the same room sitting
in a chair looks sensitive. After sleeping together , Alma cries and dispatches
Elisabeth’s husband.
In the morning she sees Elisabeth keeping a picture on
her hands. She takes it away from her. That’s a picture of Elisabeth’s son.
Alma insists there once again for the other to
speak. And after she doesn’t get any response tells the story herself. In
short: Elisabeth doesn’t love her son. She tried several times to abort, but
her attempts failed. Even after the baby came to life, his mother didn’t love
him. This is the shadow that pursues her, inability to love her son. From the
reaction of Elizabeth,it seems that Alma is right.
Alma repeats once again the whole story. She tries
to say "I'm not like you", "I'm not you", but the words
stuck in her throat.
She only articulates: You. I. We.
Meanhile the camera shows the half face of Elisabeth
and half face of Alma in a single head to give the impression that they are the
same person.
Alma comes out again. Enters again inside. She finds
Elisabeth in a strange situation. Alma also passes into a kind of strange situation
... she scratches her arm with her claws and forces the other to drink blood.
Then she packs up her stuff and leave the cottage
alone. The camera focuses on the director and on his crew.
 |
| Bibi Andersson (Alma) ; Ingmar Bergman ; Liv Ullman (Elisabeth) |
Now ... to clarify some things:
"Persona" is a term that was used by Jung
to tell what is shown, ie that part of the personality that we manifest in the
outer world. As we want to be seen by others. A type of role. A personage, who
often do not correspond to what we are.
The one above is such this complicated situation.
But unlike three quarters of the films we see today (with much regret I enclose
even Fight Club) here is not easy to ascertain which one of the girls is the alter-ego,
ie "persona". They may be both “persona” for each other.
Alma and Elisabeth are a great “bi personality”. How
different on the surface, so similar in the inside.
Bergman himself is intentional even there where he
let the things flow. Unlike Tarkovsky that spreads his art slowly ('m sweet),
Bergman is like a sharp knife in action.
"Persona1966" is a directorial “chef d’oeuvre”
in all sense of this word. One of those little things that make us believe in
the existence of God ( because I can’t explain otherwise the existence of
Bergman ) and leave us to perceive in a subjective way each fragment, without harming
our creative force of imagination.
Keep calm and watch this fucked up film... by Led Kasapi
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