Product: Persona (1967)
Rating: 5.0
Theatre of Psychological Intimacy
PERSONA is one of Ingmar Bergman's best remembered films & one that solidified his reputation as a leading post-World War II film director. It also loosely codified his basic approach: Very theatrical, intimate & psychological--with a dab of surrealism..At the beginning of the film a psychiatric nurse is given the doctor's explanation of his patient's condition. We learn that she is an actress and that one night while she was playing ELEKTRA she suddenly froze. It was not stage fright, but rather the symptom of a deeply embeded conflict. It's interesting that the role of Elektra should be the catalyst for her neurosis as the play deals with the subject of family betrayal. Freud's theories of the Elektra Complex also factors in with its complex sexual & role dynamics.Next we see the actress in her hospital room & the TV is on, but she does not react to it. Suddenly a news item shows a monk in Saigon setting himself on fire as a protest to the corrupt regime in power. The actress jumps up and flings herself against a wall in silent hysterics. I interpreted this to signify that her crisis was not just personal, but also the sensitive reaction of a woman highly attuned to her environment & society.The nurse & her patient go to live in seclusion with the idea that this companionable relationship without any real committment & away from the collective negativity of society will enable the actress to heal & resumme her place in that same society. There are just two little problems: The patient IS an actress & the Nurse is a real person, not just a passive listener.A psychodrama plays out that is intense & often shocking.This film is an important archival & historic document.