Persona
by Ingmar Bergman
(Fiction, Sweden, 1966, 80’, BW, Fr ST)
with Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Margaretha Krook
Right in the middle of a performance, actress Elisabet Vogler loses her ability to speak. After a stay in a clinic, she settles on Fårö island with her nurse Alma for a time. The two young women become deeply complicit, which encourages Alma to confide in her. But the symbiotic relationship will soon deteriorate…
“I feel today that in Persona I went as far as I could. And that in unfettered freedom I touched upon wordless secrets that only the cinema can reveal.” Ingmar Bergman, Journal cinéphile lyonnais, 2016
”I discovered that every inflexion of my voice, every word in my mouth was a lie. (…) There was only one way to save myself from despair and collapse. Remain silent. Try to reach behind the silence, clarity, or at least gather up the resources I could still dispose of.” Ingmar Bergman
“One day I said that Persona had saved my life. That was no exaggeration. If I hadn’t found the strength to make that film, I would no doubt have been a finished man.” Ingmar Bergman