Product: Persona (1967)
Rating: 5.0
C'est Magnifique!
I was blown away by Persona. There is really no words to truly describe the haunting, poetic, and erotic mood, feeling, and plot of this entire film and it's two exemplary female characters. This is truly a visual feast, at times cringing, beautiful, haunting, sad, erotic, and at the end, profound. This is a film that will truly make you think. For instance, the boy in the beginning can symbolize two things: Elisabeth's neglected child, or Alma's unborn child. And of course, the most haunting scene in cinema is when Alma, dressed in the same black clothing as Elisabeth, talks about Elisabeth's neglection of motherhood and marriage, while to some degree she's talking about her own naive view on both of these topics. Then, at the end, both of their faces emerge, exemplifying the exploration of a psychoanalysis breaking into subtle madness! That scene will always remain in my mind, it's so haunting in a deep and profound way. This film truly has the immense emotion and intensity that is highly rare in movies today. The end is even just as profound when we are back at the scene with the boy watching a screen of what appears to be the face of Elisabeth (or Alma? Both?), but then the reel breaks apart, and then the light that was lit in the beginning of the film suddenly fades into darkness. If you want to watch a film that is not cliche and predictable, watch PERSONA. But beware, a film like this should be watched with an OPEN MIND. If you look at it too seriously, or not seriously enough, you won't get the point and will lose the purpose and the meaning that this film has represented. Truly a masterpiece of cinema.