Persona

A surreal tour de force that leaves you utterly bewildered and amazed. This film is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life, an extremely mysterious and terrifying exploration of the psyche of two women, or maybe one woman, I have no clue.     There are many ways to interpret this film. I took it as an exploration of Alma’s psyche, as Elizabeth is Alma’s ‘alter-ego’ of sorts, and represents her deep repressed thoughts and emotions, and as she slowly reveals herself, her mask slips and the line that defines the two women seems to dissolve.     But what makes this film so truly incredible is the fact that you can interpret it as two separate women entirely, who under long sustained time together, start to lose their identity and merge into one entity.      Bergman’s direction is possibly at the highest level I have ever seen from any director ever in this film. There are many things that I could focus on but I think the most remarkable thing were the shadows. The way that shadows and silhouettes were used to represent emotion, mental state, and so much more was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen in a film.     Liv Ullman and Bibi Andersson both give absolute all-timer performances. Both completely different yet compliment each other in the best ways possible.