Persona 1966 Ingmar Bergman

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