Before I begin writing, I would like to thank Brittany, who continuously pressured me to watch this feature.
Being, Nothingness, Existence, Consciousness, Collection, Relation, Reality... Concepts. All Concepts. The foundations of our message. The kindle of a medium. Exerted from the pillars of philosophy, psychology, and social thought, Ingmar Bergman's Persona reveals it's horrifying intention within the first five minutes. The light is sparked, the film accelerates, and the curtains begin to roll back revealing a congruence of images, which is the cinema. Bergman's prelude to Persona acknowledges the origins of the medium, while also memorializing the state he was in during his recovery from pneumonia. It was his role as a patient that enacted the writings for Persona's eventual script. Within this context, which is clearly represented at the end of the prelude in the form of a boy laid out on what seems to be a hospital bed, the story discloses itself not only to the recovering auteur, but also to us: the audience.
The principle story follows the relationship of two women. An actress named Elisabet, who has recently become mute, and her nurse Alma who is summoned to take care of her. Without any delay, the viewer is made keenly aware of the minimalist aesthetic set forth. Graced with the magnetic allure of black and white photography, Bergman repeatedly captivates the viewer with enigmatic close ups of the two actresses. It is here, without words, that we get ingenuous insights from both Alma and Elisabet. Bergman stated himself that “…the human face is the great subject of cinema. Everything is there.” Clearly poised to convey such emotionality, the director makes it a goal to capture the sometimes-banal transformations that can occur within frantic movements that usually go unnoticed. The film’s fundamental demeanor can be symbolized by the nominal attributes of a human face.
The basic marker of Persona is the Singular. The act of one Role. Bergman’s scheme however, is the act of one role played by two. The Patient and the Nurse, the Listener and the Speaker, the Thinker and the Actor. Though his representation of this is rather literal (there is nothing hidden in this film), the squares we reside ourselves in is often obscured and indefinite. The actual roles precede our inhabitance of them. Therefore there is an elusive delineation of who is who and if it concerns the eventual outcome. Throughout the film, there are great scenes of social transcendence. The generally known is unforgivably a façade for the unknown. Bergman sets a sterile environment, a house on an isolated beach, for this experiment to enact properly. The two women fall in and out of identity, creating fervent reprisals as well as cathartic hospitalities to one another. These emotive swings are visually astounding to witness.
As reality tries to resurface towards the third act, one forgets that reality has already been present throughout the whole experience. The cinema screen is the retina of our imagination. There are instances when one must give the ambiguous characteristics of an art certain freedoms to direct one’s consciousness to wherever it decides to go. This film is no exception. Full of mystery and meticulous animation, Ingmar Bergman’s Persona sends us through a perilous course reminding us of the dysfunctional ties to these deceptive roles we submerge ourselves in.
Brittany told me while watching the film she could of paused at any moment and taken a screenshot.
I’d have to agree.
xoxo,
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