Today, we watched a Swedish film entitled “Persona,” directed by Ingmar Bergman. The film lasted for about an hour and a half, was entirely in black and white, and had subtitles. I’m not much of a fan for black and white films, or subtitles, but the movie turned out to be quite intriguing in my opinion.
In the opening scene, various disturbing images and video clips are flashed across the screen at a fast pace – a hand with a nail being hammered through it, an old woman looking up at the sky, a young boy tossing around in his bed, a man’s genitalia, etc. The images left me feeling confused and slightly uncomfortable. After the series of images, the story line of the film begins.
The film follows the progression of a relationship between two women, Elisabet Vogler and Sister Alma. Elisabet is a famous actress who is admitted to the hospital after she refuses to talk anymore, or do anything for that matter. Sister Alma, a nurse at the hospital, is called upon to help and watch over Elisabet because the doctor thinks Sister Alma will be good for Elisabet. Then, they are sent to live in a summerhouse by the seashore in isolation. Because Elisabet refuses to speak, Sister Alma opens up and reveals many of her secrets to Elisabet. Sister Alma feels that she can trust Elisabet very much, until she finds a letter written by Elisabet to her doctor concerning Sister Alma’s secrets, which is the rising action of the plot. The two women have a falling out, and eventually Sister Alma finds herself being emerged into Elisabet’s persona. The story line ends as Alma catches herself from being completely drawn into Elisabet’s persona and ultimately leaves Elisabet by herself in a catatonic state. The film ends the same as it began, showing the same disturbing images.
I really didn’t know what to think at first after viewing this film. The film was certainly not like any other film I’ve ever seen before. It’s very dark and intense, both psychologically and visually. The relationship between Elisabet and Sister Alma is reflected in the visual darkness and contrast used in the film. All of the scenes have very dark shadows and bright whites within the figures and backgrounds. A lot of texture and pattern is also used within the scenes. Each scene was striking and memorable as an individual image.
In the film, when Sister Alma finds out that Elisabet revealed her secrets to her doctor, Alma becomes extremely angry. Alma lashes out at Elisabet and says something powerful:
“I thought that great artists had great compassion for people… that they created through a great compassion and a need to help.”
This quote was quite thought provoking. It raises the question of what art is used for. Is art a way of hiding oneself from the world? Or is it a way to show the world who you really are? To me, art is something that people create in order to tell a story – whether it be literal or metaphorical. Art isn’t something to hide behind; it is something used to come out from hiding. Art IS created through compassion, among many other things. Although, in the film, I believe that Elisabet uses theatre as a way of hiding who she truly is. Even though the audience doesn’t see Elisabet physically acting on a stage at any point of the movie, it is very apparent that her persona actually comes out when she doesn’t speak for months, because of the way it’s inflicted upon Sister Alma. As viewers, we begin to see where Sister Alma’s rage, confusion, happiness, and sadness come from. We see a transformation from when she first starts taking care of Elisabet, the growth of their relationship, and when she leaves Elisabet in the end. It’s interesting to think about how much one person can impact another person, even without speaking.
Overall, I thought the film was very well composed. To be honest, I am still not entirely sure how I feel about it even after giving it a lot of thought, but I definitely enjoyed it. I thought the images were intricate and dramatic, yet simply beautiful at the same time. I enjoyed the different angles from which the scenes were shot, and the tone and contrast throughout the film. I think that Bergman’s close attention to the visual aspects of the film made it much more enjoyable to watch.
In the opening scene, various disturbing images and video clips are flashed across the screen at a fast pace – a hand with a nail being hammered through it, an old woman looking up at the sky, a young boy tossing around in his bed, a man’s genitalia, etc. The images left me feeling confused and slightly uncomfortable. After the series of images, the story line of the film begins.
The film follows the progression of a relationship between two women, Elisabet Vogler and Sister Alma. Elisabet is a famous actress who is admitted to the hospital after she refuses to talk anymore, or do anything for that matter. Sister Alma, a nurse at the hospital, is called upon to help and watch over Elisabet because the doctor thinks Sister Alma will be good for Elisabet. Then, they are sent to live in a summerhouse by the seashore in isolation. Because Elisabet refuses to speak, Sister Alma opens up and reveals many of her secrets to Elisabet. Sister Alma feels that she can trust Elisabet very much, until she finds a letter written by Elisabet to her doctor concerning Sister Alma’s secrets, which is the rising action of the plot. The two women have a falling out, and eventually Sister Alma finds herself being emerged into Elisabet’s persona. The story line ends as Alma catches herself from being completely drawn into Elisabet’s persona and ultimately leaves Elisabet by herself in a catatonic state. The film ends the same as it began, showing the same disturbing images.
I really didn’t know what to think at first after viewing this film. The film was certainly not like any other film I’ve ever seen before. It’s very dark and intense, both psychologically and visually. The relationship between Elisabet and Sister Alma is reflected in the visual darkness and contrast used in the film. All of the scenes have very dark shadows and bright whites within the figures and backgrounds. A lot of texture and pattern is also used within the scenes. Each scene was striking and memorable as an individual image.
In the film, when Sister Alma finds out that Elisabet revealed her secrets to her doctor, Alma becomes extremely angry. Alma lashes out at Elisabet and says something powerful:
“I thought that great artists had great compassion for people… that they created through a great compassion and a need to help.”
This quote was quite thought provoking. It raises the question of what art is used for. Is art a way of hiding oneself from the world? Or is it a way to show the world who you really are? To me, art is something that people create in order to tell a story – whether it be literal or metaphorical. Art isn’t something to hide behind; it is something used to come out from hiding. Art IS created through compassion, among many other things. Although, in the film, I believe that Elisabet uses theatre as a way of hiding who she truly is. Even though the audience doesn’t see Elisabet physically acting on a stage at any point of the movie, it is very apparent that her persona actually comes out when she doesn’t speak for months, because of the way it’s inflicted upon Sister Alma. As viewers, we begin to see where Sister Alma’s rage, confusion, happiness, and sadness come from. We see a transformation from when she first starts taking care of Elisabet, the growth of their relationship, and when she leaves Elisabet in the end. It’s interesting to think about how much one person can impact another person, even without speaking.
Overall, I thought the film was very well composed. To be honest, I am still not entirely sure how I feel about it even after giving it a lot of thought, but I definitely enjoyed it. I thought the images were intricate and dramatic, yet simply beautiful at the same time. I enjoyed the different angles from which the scenes were shot, and the tone and contrast throughout the film. I think that Bergman’s close attention to the visual aspects of the film made it much more enjoyable to watch.
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