Product: Persona (1967)
Rating: 4.0
Self punishment
Two beautiful actresses, almost identical in their physical appearance, bettle it out on screen. Liv Ullman plays an actress, Elizabeth, who during stage play goes silent (probably every director's nightmare). There is nothing wrong with her physically or empotionally according to the doctor, so she is assigned a young nurse Alma (Bibi Anderson) to take care of her. There is no need for them to stay in the hospital, so doctor let's them use her summer house in hopes that fresh air and rest will aid patient's recovery from the unexplainable illness. As two women settle in house, it is amazing to see them interact in spite of the fact that Elizabeth does not speak at all and the young nurse is doing all the talking. As the time goes by, it is the young nurse who opens herself up bare to her silent companion. It is almost as if their roles are reversed. As long kept secrets keep pouring out, the initial tenderness between two of them turns into violence and cruelty both verbal and physical. It turns that solitude and deep reflection are cracking their personalities in the ways neither one of them expected. Or could it be, that the two personalities are part of one that imagines it all as a form of self-healing? Reconciling one's life is never easy, so it is not surprising the we witness all the psychological twists unfold in front of us. Deeply intelectual film that can have many meanings, it is quiet, but not slow and engaging from start to finish. We really want to know what will come out of these characters at the end.