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Persona

Persona

1966
Drama
1h 23m
A nurse is put in charge of a actress who can't talk and finds that the actresses persona is melding with hers.
Your probable score
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Persona

1966
Drama
1h 23m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 78.43% from 4768 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(4768)
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Compact view
Rated 28 Apr 2009
6
99th
Simply the boldest dive into the dark abyss of the human mind, that has ever been put on film. An abstract work of art, that resonates through expressionist imagery and the way it invites the viewer to a dialogue, dealing with the fragileness of the individual in modern society and our often irrational nature. I have an everlasting intellectual and emotional commitment to this film, even though it never can live up to the impact it had on me upon first viewing it.
Rated 24 Feb 2007
90
85th
Bergman's most abstract, avant-garde, experimental movie, and it almost makes me wish he'd gone down that route more often. Only almost, though, because even here it's for the most part the most "normal" scenes that have the greatest impact. Liv Ullman is quite possibly my favorite actress, but Bibi Andersson is even better here.
Rated 09 Jul 2007
68
70th
This movie is earnestly artsy. I don't doubt the integrity of its experimental whimsies - they are all marvelous, all justified. I appreciate its partial vagueness and ambiguity and I'm certain I got atleast some of what it's driving at. It is, however, a little bit too conceptually fanciful to grab me emotionally or even intellectually, as much as a really great movie would.
Rated 01 Apr 2008
5
91st
Avant-garde psychological art-horror doomed romance, if that's not too many categories for one film, and Bergman manages to weave all those disparate threads together with stunning aplomb, creating something so sui generis that fifty years on there still isn't anything else quite like it.
Rated 05 Jun 2009
61
31st
Despite all the effort put into this by Bergman and company - the acting, music, and cinematography show it - there is no compelling reason for me care about these two characters or what happens to them. Everything seems to happen in a needlessly abstract and obtuse manor. The screamingly obnoxious surrealism doesn't help, and it comes off as Bergman trying too hard to follow then-current cinematic developments. Swing and a miss.
Rated 27 May 2010
83
89th
im not really sure what was going on in this film but i had a boner for most of the time
Rated 14 Apr 2013
98
99th
"The hopeless dream of being - not seeming, but being. At every waking moment, alert. The gulf between what you are with others and what you are alone."
Rated 14 Aug 2007
84
37th
Swathed by some of the most perfect images ever captured on film, you will revel in that which Bergman has created: namely, the cinematic equivalent of a woman who has dug a hole in her soul only to be buried by the weight of her own guilt.
Rated 28 Feb 2012
70
78th
Bibi Andersson gives one hell of a performance but why should I care about Ullmann's character at all? The unconventional narrative may have entranced others but to me it came across as pretentious without having much of an impact.
Rated 12 Dec 2006
100
99th
One of Bergman's best, and that's saying a lot. The great use of visuals and the acting by the two leads help create the perfect mood for the film.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
97
99th
Bergman, Images: My Life in Film, 65: "Today I feel that in PERSONA – and later in CRIES AND WHISPERS – I had gone as far as I could go. And that in these two instances, when working in total freedom, I touched wordless secrets that only the cinema can discover." Simple but infinitely complex; almost gives a feeling that this was the first time anyone had figured out the true purpose of the movie camera and how it can show truths inaccessible to writing, theatre or the other arts.
Rated 25 Dec 2007
90
97th
The previous Bergman films I had seen could not have prepared me for Persona, an unnerving and beautiful piece of postmodern cinema. Even the film's opening credits are fantastic. The overall whole is transcendent.
Rated 05 Feb 2007
100
99th
One of the most sublime vanguardist experiences you'll ever have in your life.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
87
89th
This is really abstract for Bergman, who usually deals with pretty straightforward narratives. It definitely requires multiple viewings. I'm fascinated by it, and some parts are very engaging, but on the whole it might be too much style over substance for my tastes. It's kind of a natural progression from The Silence but I'm glad he got it out of his system.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
96
95th
For Bergman, this is a lot more surreal than most of his other work, and in many ways it's his best because of that. Beautiful imagery that is at the same time frightening is what makes Persona such a harrowing movie. The acting by Bibi Anderson and Liv Ullman is fantastic per usual with the direction of the master himself. It's hard not to recommend this with top praise, as you won't easily find many movies much better than Persona.
Rated 07 Nov 2008
9
93rd
How do you describe abstract Bergman? Incredibly daring and I won't be the first to admit that I had no idea what was going on but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the ride..
Rated 06 Jun 2009
81
78th
bergman makes this movie the best it possibly could be, never slacking in camerawork or any other responsiblity. the problem with this movie, however, is that it basically amounts to a 90 minute monologue, and that's just not right.
Rated 14 Aug 2009
2
39th
What am I supposed to take away from this? Bergman is undoubtedly a fantastic and influential director, but this is abstract for abstract's sake, the whole thing feels like the filmmaker telling you how dumb you are for not understanding his jerk-off vision. That said, I didn't hate this. I honestly even enjoyed parts of it, but this is not my style at all.
Rated 25 Apr 2011
87
90th
Penis.
Rated 02 Jun 2013
4
55th
bergman understands identity as a construct designed to shield us from the innate violence of ourselves and our world--and cinema as the primary enabler of our many masks. his screen is only a tremor away from rupturing, duelling personas melting together through jagged fissures; the fortresses of the psyche must crumble, leaving the audience shivering naked beneath. still, for all the showy cameraplay, it's a sexually-charged anecdote and ethereal dream sequence that pack the most punch.
Rated 26 Jul 2008
100
99th
My favourite Bergman and his most daring film. He didn't do it very often but it's clear he can do it well.
Rated 28 Sep 2008
95
99th
Thanks to Sven Nykvist for wonderful "photography" and the other is all Bergman.
Rated 28 Nov 2008
97
98th
Magnificent performances from Ullmann and Andersson. Every shot is a work of art and Bergman controls the mood perfectly from start to finish. In short, it's masterful.
Rated 15 Dec 2008
93
84th
Different would be my only word for this. Different. Bergman has made his most abstract, diverse and disparate movie ever, and it's a pure breath of fresh air in the filmmaking department. With aurally and grabbingly pleasing performances from Liv Ullman and the rest of the cast, a memorable outcome and jaw-dropping photography, Persona will always be a classic.
Rated 01 Jul 2009
92
97th
Belief, that art is in life important something. Particularly for men with problems. Persona is art ideally imitating my hitherto exists emotional state. Royal movie.
Rated 02 Sep 2009
96
98th
When I was younger, I used to think I had some understanding of the “meaning” of this movie. Now I can happily admit I’m more clueless about it than ever. But the level of abstraction only deepens my love for this mesmerising and compelling film. Incredible nuanced performances, unnerving and intimate cinematography, and a fascinating power struggle with profound thoughts on duality, filmmaking, inner strength, and so much more that will still be being analysed for a long time to come.
Rated 17 Jul 2010
100
99th
17 temmuz 10 & cumle kurmak istemiyorum.
Rated 22 Jul 2010
20
1st
Im loathe to review a film I haven't watched the whole way but after the 1 minute static close up of a face, I foresaw hell. Some people c that scene & look 4 profound "meaning". Others will call pretentious puzzles w/out answers like this mental masturbation, but that's unfair. Masturbation implies measurable goals: pleasure/orgasm. 4 those who think that something is good as long as it's "avant garde" (i.e. "First! He's got dibs!"), even if its a canvas smeared w/ used diapers, this 1's for u
Rated 12 Feb 2011
85
95th
The cinematography lighting are ones of the best I've ever seen, with it's black&white strong contrast. Liv Ullmann is fascinating, and it's slow but the whole thing flies by magically because of the outstanding beauty, the thought-provoking themes and the relationship between the characters. It's almost flawless, but I was thrilled to see the ending and it just ruined it for me. Bergman obviously tried to push the melding-personas concept further, but it came out awkward and didn't work.
Rated 28 Dec 2012
31
3rd
A pretentious,dull & strange film only to be enjoyed by those avant-garde cinephiles who actually understand this cinema lark. While they salute the great Bergman for his genius us humble plebs just gape openmouthed and either wonder what it all means or more likely - what's the bloody point?
Rated 11 Aug 2014
2
59th
Incredibly pretentious and unsatisfying. I wonder if Bergman, when everybody had left the room, took his pants down and jerked off to his own 'brilliance' while watching this flick. He seemed like the type of guy to do that. Jokes aside, it's highly overrated.
Rated 28 Jul 2015
93
96th
A nurse, the caretaker, the saint - the actress, the persona - collapses on the stage, finding herself to care for her who had been inexplicably silent. The schizoid divide resolves through stories of guilt being held, contained (Bion) by the mother-object she herself moves into and integrates, so that she may speak again and live life in full.
Rated 11 Jun 2017
45
31st
Here Bergman discovers a psychoanalytic language that feels as exclamatory and outdated now as Hitchcock's Spellbound. With expressive lights and shadows he blocks his way to the transfiguration that functions as the horror finale in the same way that a nail is driven into a hand at midpoint, i.e. not profound, but certainly blunt. The direction gives us a psychic rupture, but the text has the dynamics of overbearing theater and the proposed examination of self slips into haziness.
Rated 17 Aug 2020
85
86th
“Oh she’s a vampire!” Give Bergman some faces and shadows to play with and you’ll be left questioning everything.
Rated 25 Jan 2007
72
37th
...wtf
Rated 03 Sep 2007
93
94th
Very dark and artistic. The acting was absolutely incredible; very emotional. It's very different compared to the other Bergman's i've seen. Very different but extremely unique.
Rated 08 Sep 2008
100
99th
Great films, I believe, should open the door to your soul, beat it into submission, then lock it in a dark room and let it think about what it's done. This does that and then some serious demon-purging. The 'broken glass' and 'nude suntanning rememberance' scenes are supreme examples of psychological terror.
Rated 08 Nov 2008
95
92nd
Bergman's style, with its delicately composed shots and cerebral dialogue, can have a distancing chill to it. That potential drawback is leavened by the extraordinary performance by Bibi Andersson as the nurse. Since she's carrying most of the scenes on her own, against Liv Ullman's serene, silent presence, Andersson has enormous acting challenges before her and she resoundingly succeeds. Every bit of her character's shifting sense of self is deeply felt and urgently conveyed.
Rated 04 Dec 2008
80
98th
!(!)
Rated 09 Feb 2009
90
92nd
It's just Bergman going at it again, with some powerful help from Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, what a pair. I still prefer more subtle analysis such as Scenes from a Marriage, but Persona is a film that I enjoyed, and respect, very much.
Rated 08 Mar 2009
9
76th
Abstract, and fucked up. This being the first Ingmar Bergman film I've seen, I'm not sure what to think, or how to properly rate it.
Rated 20 Aug 2009
88
85th
If nothing else, it's a crazy mind trip. I think what I like most is the lack of a really big reveal. There's no drum roll leading up to what's real and what's not. It's ambiguous in that department and allows to take a deeper look at the more subtle areas of storytelling. By the way, the iconic image of the two women (as seen above), lives up.
Rated 20 Aug 2009
95
94th
A deeply personal movie that is ambitious but usually easy to watch and absorbing. Superb acting does justice to these complex characters, who are then further articulated and enhanced by Bergman's stunning camerawork, which includes some of the better uses of close-ups I've seen in film.
Rated 10 Sep 2009
60
40th
Not my type of cinema, so i couldn't like it that much..
Rated 07 Oct 2009
4
74th
Bergman takes a full dive into more experimental territory. Ditching his spiritual neuroses in favor of piercing psychology, he studies the nature of both inner and outer perception. He even toys with the audience's senses a bit, periodically challenging the viewer with barrages of abstract imagery, editing, and sound design, with large help from Nykvist's bold and expressive photography. Brilliant performances from Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann.
Rated 24 Jan 2010
85
93rd
Mindfuck. I'd call Persona a surrealist horror movie that has some very engaging and intense dramatic vignettes. Apparently Bergman wanted to call this "A Bit of Cinematography" - probably doesn't quite do it justice but the 'bits' of cinematography in here are very impressive - love that coastal setting.
Rated 23 May 2010
53
47th
Dour and suffocating and, above all, empty; I really hope this isn't the actual height of Bergman's 'genius.'
Rated 05 Jun 2010
77
93rd
-Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move, refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie. You can shut yourself in. Then you needn't play any parts or make wrong gestures. Or so you thought. But reality is diabolical. Your hiding place isn't watertight. Life trickles in from the outside, and you're forced to react.
Rated 20 Jul 2010
90
92nd
We are capable of breaking our chosen personalities as easy as we choose to uphold them. Bergman freezes us in the Swedish summer where an actress and a nurse almost physically merge. They express (through one voice) love, disdain, hatred, fear and longing towards their joint persona and the matching forces in their lives. There is little that we can hold as unique Bergman is implying, or is there little that separates us? With reference in the film to the terrors of war this proves poignant.
Rated 06 Sep 2010
94
97th
Bergman deconstructs the unstable and vulnerable emotions of two very different/alike women as he simultaneously deconstructs the unstable and vulnerable film that we are watching.
Rated 26 Jun 2011
81
73rd
Amazing imagery and lighting. There are lots of neat visual tricks sprinkled throughout the film. It's very odd and often surreal, but I thought it was most compelling when Anderrson is just pushing all of her problems and insecurities out into the open. She was just excellent.
Rated 24 Jul 2011
50
22nd
Treating Persona as the pieces of a puzzle and trying to put them together would only demonstrate ingenuity at guesswork. It's easy to say that the little boy is probably Bergman as a child; and he may also represent the nurse's aborted baby and/or the actress's rejected son. But for this kind of speculation to have any purpose, there must be a structure of meanings in the work by which an interpretation can be validated; I don't think there is one in Persona.
Rated 04 Aug 2011
90
93rd
Watching this made me feel very tired and drained like a lazy rain drenched afternoon. Wonderful Liv & Bibi.
Rated 22 Nov 2011
89
94th
From the moment the movie begins, you notice that Bergman is emotionally involved, which is more than required when trying to describe a process of any kind. Unfortunately, the act describing is not enough to actually describe, and while the first part of the movie is near perfection, the second part is slowly deteriorating into mediocrity, which prevents the actual process to reconstruct itself within the mind and soul of the viewer.
Rated 13 Dec 2011
70
27th
80
Rated 15 Jan 2012
70
67th
In general, it had pretty risque content for a film from the 60s. But it's Ingmar Bergman, so you've gotta expect that. Some of the film was pretty abstract and all of it was very minimalist. The composition of shots in this movie was absolutely brilliant, it must be said. Overall, I can't say I truly connected with this film, but I can easily recognise its genius.
Rated 04 Apr 2012
90
88th
Apart from the opening sequence of images, this film is seamless. Seamless in its progression of tone, pace, and the intertwining of the two characters. Beautiful use of close-ups and scenes which makes use of almost no dialogue at all to convey the strong emotions that people sometimes feel but choose to hide away - and the brilliant acting really makes this possible as well. Moreover, its a really beautifully shot film - pause the film anytime and it could be a picture to be hung on a wall.
Rated 16 Sep 2013
9
99th
the starkest of bergman's saturated black-and-white photography tells the tale of two women who become one, in a way. having just seen this for the first time, while rather drunk i must admit, is a rather astonishing experience. hurrah! ba-dum ba-dum...
Rated 07 Nov 2013
80
65th
Who am I? Who are you? Who am I?
Rated 03 Dec 2014
85
92nd
Bergmans deconstructive surreal "masterpiece" which is meant to be experienced more than to be understood. While it's indeed a very good movie, what keeps this from being a real masterpiece in my view is that Bergman is after all a more rational than intuitive director (like f.e. Lynch).
Rated 26 Jul 2016
90
91st
what
Rated 16 Feb 2018
90
90th
Disturbing and yet, such a fulfilling cinematic experience. Something that really pierces at the audience psyche from the get-go. I highly respect the poetic visuals and this is a treasure worth observing.
Rated 09 Apr 2018
0
5th
This is the worst film I've ever seen, and I've seen The Cat in the Hat. There isn't one redeeming thing about this dreadful lob of shit.
Rated 02 Sep 2018
38
21st
Good acting, great cinematography. Yet despite all that, it failed to affect me in any way. Tedious.
Rated 30 Nov 2018
70
53rd
The Doctor: "I understand, all right. The hopeless dream of being - not seeming, but being. At every waking moment, alert. The gulf between what you are with others and what you are alone. The vertigo and the constant hunger to be exposed, to be seen through, perhaps even wiped out. Every inflection and every gesture a lie, every smile a grimace. Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move, refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie. You can shut yourself in."
Rated 23 Apr 2019
80
69th
Yüzyılın en overrated filmi falan herhalde.
Rated 07 Sep 2019
100
96th
Among his really superb body of work, this is one of Bergman's most remarkable films in the way it is on the one hand, very straightforward, and on the other had, very difficult to describe since it uses visual and cinematic metaphors to convey really crucial information. It's not a difficult film to understand, but it's very hard to put into words.
Rated 29 Apr 2020
76
41st
This film's outsized influence is best felt in other directors' films. Yes, it's beautifully acted and well shot, but its not much more than a regurgitation of Shakespearean soliloquies, just jackhammered into the audience. Pair that with what was trendy among virtuoso filmmakers at the time (tearing down the fourth wall, purposeful incoherence, etc.) and you get something of an eye-rolling slog. If I wanted this kind of art school sadism, I'd put on some French New Wave.
Rated 25 Jun 2020
96
94th
People's craving and repulsion for transcendence, both arising from an awareness of mortality, and how such conflict is exposed (and concealed) in human interaction and in dreams (movies). Here Bergman's real brilliance lies in how he externalised this inner conflict in people's relationship with another person or their alter ego, with THE SILENCE as his first obvious attempt and which has its full bloom in SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE through a complex intertwinement of personal and sexual conflicts.
Rated 07 Mar 2021
6
31st
po-mo gobbledygook, big lazy exposition dump at the end.
Rated 15 Mar 2007
95
96th
Such a beautiful film. The avant garde moments are really compelling. Wonderful, emotional acting that makes the experience quite moving.
Rated 26 Mar 2007
100
95th
Probably Bergman's best. Like 2001, I am positive I don't fully understand it, but I will gladly watch it at least ten more times trying to figure it out. Dark and poetic
Rated 17 Apr 2007
97
97th
# 34
Rated 24 Jun 2007
91
95th
I can't explain why something this abstract made me react so strongly.
Rated 06 Aug 2007
100
96th
Powerful in form and content, at once one of Bergman's most berserk experiments and one of his most emotionally focused films. A film to revisit.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
95
89th
One of the strangest films I've ever seen
Rated 14 Aug 2007
98
97th
There is no other movie like Persona .. It is unique cinematic experience ..
Rated 14 Aug 2007
100
99th
huge. bergman does so much with this film... too much, but in the best way.
Rated 22 Oct 2007
90
88th
Love the experimental flourishes here, as Bergman wrestles with the notion of identity and what it means to one's own identity to take on the persona of another person.The performances are exquisite--Liv Ullmann is radiant and Bibi Andersson is devastating. And the camera--screens, mirrors, doubling, one face in front of or blocking another--so much going on visually that undergirds the film's thematic interests.
Rated 29 Dec 2007
60
36th
For such a complex and challenging film, an alarming amount of people have seen it. I'll admit that after 2 watches I still don't understand it. But I found it beautiful.
Rated 22 Jan 2008
50
55th
I had such high hopes for this, but I felt it was too pretentious and nonsensical. Perhaps I didn't understand it. It had such potential.
Rated 30 Jan 2008
10
96th
Fascinating and eerie. Bibi Andersson is exceptional.
Rated 01 Mar 2008
98
96th
# 32
Rated 23 Mar 2008
97
92nd
Persona is a feministic view on two womens secret angst and longings using ultra esthetic visuals, monologs and a unique way to confront the audience. This is an unforgetable film that views intimate subjects such as the shame of some of our human sides with a accepting and proud voice.
Rated 27 Apr 2008
6
95th
Some of the best stuff ever.
Rated 01 May 2008
90
84th
A film so alien now as it must have been in its time. It's not a cold intellectual exercise, the screen is always alive with horrible or endearing displays of humanity. Is this the inner conflict of one person with multiple faces? Who knows, I'll take what I can: the questions, the performances, the haunting visuals.
Rated 06 Aug 2008
98
94th
A very hard film to get into; but once you do, Bergman regulars Ullmann and Andersson will haunt your dreams. Has so much going on in its ruminations on the complexities and ambiguities on personal identity that multiple viewings have not cracked the code, and never will. The similar 'Mulholland Dr.' does less this already did 30 years earlier. Basically, it's beautiful and cryptic, and a personal favorite.
Rated 29 Aug 2008
85
84th
Very intelligent movie, very quite but even the more caputring the audience through the performances of both female actors. If you have seen this movie, you know where David Lynch has got his ideas from! ;-) Personally not my favourite Bergman movie, but that comes only down to preference.
Rated 06 Nov 2008
85
67th
whlie rewatching it, the abstract parts felt kinda odd. still there is a lot extremly good, but not as good as i rememberd it. especially the second half falls off. i mean, i don't know. you go from deeply moving personallife to an turbocharged vision of art. and the question for me still is: why is that?
Rated 19 Dec 2008
98
96th
40
Rated 08 Jan 2009
100
90th
Marvellous. The cinematography is incredible, with the black/white contrast shots alone telling you absolutely everything. I'll admit I wasn't a fan for the first half after the great intro (it drags on a bit), but towards the end I was utterly captivated.
Rated 11 May 2009
89
82nd
As much as most Bergman's movies seem stretched and boring (tempo-wise) to me, this one is brilliant enough for me to watch fully and without speeding up.
Rated 09 Jun 2009
90
28th
Nah.
Rated 19 Jul 2009
80
26th
I don't think I understand this film, but I did enjoy it. A little too fragmented for my liking, but definitely a classic.
Rated 02 Aug 2009
90
94th
Persona: 9 // 9 // 9 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 10
Rated 19 Sep 2009
80
85th
Liv Ulmann's performance is very powerful even when she does not really say anything during the film. The movie itself is very surreal and it leaves the door open for several interpretations of what the movie is really about.
Rated 08 Oct 2009
98
98th
Masterpiece, must-have, must-see, must-love, must-see-it-again.
Rated 22 Nov 2009
75
86th
Cinematographer (Sven Nykvist?) is the star in this one.
Rated 26 Nov 2009
82
61st
Beautiful and haunting.
Rated 13 Jan 2010
98
96th
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