One of the best known non-hollywood cinema directors is Swedish Ingmar Berman. His film Persona (1966) is if not anything else confusing. As Bergman says his film is "a poem in images". The opening sequence proves this visual poem showing cuts of almost random and disturbing images. The shots of film reels to tell the audience they are about to watch a film. The movie certainly sits between dreams and reality. The seemingly stonger of the two women (nurse Alma) starts to break down through he mute patient (Elisabet). Almas persona is stripped and the two women get mixed up and lost within each other. A very confusing film which could be interpreted many ways. However doesn't have to be understood to be appreciated. It comments on what is reality and different characters we present ourselves with. The camera work in Persona is quite interesting. Bergman uses extreme close-ups, not much camera movement, single shots with the camera and interesting camera frames at times.
1 comment:
Hey Em! Does anyone else read these blogs? I wonder if you think you are just spitting out thoughts into the ether and no one knows. A bit like the philisophical thought about when a tree falls down in the middle of a forest and know one is around to hear it fall. The question you ask is: Does the tree make any noise when it falls? Or is the sound of a tree falling just our perception, in our minds?
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