Images of Suffering

Ingmar Bergman’s Persona

Ingmar Bergman, Swedish, b.1918
Persona
1965
Director, Screenplay: Ingmar Bergman
Production, distribution: Svensk Filmindustri
Film stills from the collection of David Anderson

In early 1965 Ingmar Bergman was hospitalized with an illness and unsure of his future as a filmmaker. During several months confinement the idea of the film Persona developed. With its creation his career was assured and an important film came to be made.

The film concerns the relationship of an actress and her nurse. The actress is mute after having had a breakdown during a theatrical performance. They move from a hospital to a summer home on an island for a period of recuperation. During this time they build a relationship of trust, gradually drawing closer and closer. The two women are like sisters, long estranged, now reunited. Their symbiotic relationship culminates in a startling commingling of their souls.

The frightening and provoking resolution resounds with fear at the loss of personal identity and control. The subtle growth of trust and healing that we witness is apparently shattered. Yet, we sense, both the patient and the caregiver each have been changed forever – enriched, regenerated and empowered. We are left at the conclusion having witnessed this dramatic exchange, with one of life’s great questions before us.

The film is widely available on VCR but to experience the dazzling visuals and unusual sound score, a theater screening is worth searching out.