First released in 1966, Ingmar Bergman’s Persona centers on young Alma, a nurse who develops an increasingly complicated and confusing bond with her patient, a famous actress named Elisabet Volger. When Alma first meets Elisabet, the latter is unresponsive–a condition the hospital theorizes is psychological. Hoping to spur a change in Volger, the hospital sends her and Alma to stay in a seaside cottage. It is here that the two women begin to unravel, with past and present, patient and caretaker, womanhood and motherhood colliding at every turn.
In keeping with Bergman’s other works, Persona is a masterfully thoughtful and intimate investigation into humanness and the subject of self. Watching the boundaries between Alma and Elisabet dissolve around them, we as an audience are forced to ask ourselves if there is a separation between another’s sorrow and our own.
Director Biography
A true master of cinema and this year’s MSPIFF Spotlight honoree, Swedish filmmaker Earnest Ingmar Bergman’s life and legacy has been a lasting influence on the film industry. From The Seventh Seal (’57) to Persona (’66) to Fanny and Alexander (’82), Bergman’s body of work is both extensive and a cinematic marvel, his artistry and craft having inspired generations of creatives including filmmakers, actors, cinematographers and more.
Press
"Director Ingmar Bergman is modern cinema's most persistent observer of the human condition." - TIME Magazine
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