6. Persona (1966)
Sister Alma (Bibi Andersson) is a nurse who is put in charge of the care of an actress - Elizabeth Vogler (Liv Ullmann) who suddenly stopped speaking during the performance of a play. There is nothing physically or psychologically wrong with her, she simply refuses to have verbal communication. Alma and Elizabeth head off to a holiday cottage on a small island (as all good Bergman characters do). Alma starts to gab away to Elizabeth and finds it enjoyable - here is a friendly ear. She starts to divulge more and more personal information to Elizabeth. Her bubble is burst when she reads Elizabeth's unsealed letter to her doctor that speaks patronisingly of Alma. She berates Elizabeth, then begs for forgiveness. The two women are in a battle of wills and Elizabeth is becoming stronger - imposing her personality onto Alma. Persona is chock full of weird images and sequences - so much so, that sometimes we are forgiven for not being able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. It is one of Bergman's most obtuse works and also one of his most lauded. Whenever it comes to Bergman's catalogue, Persona and The Seventh Seal are probably the best known of all his works. It is really a hard film for both main actresses to get to work. Andersson carries all of the dialogue and Ullmann has to use her sheer presence and facial expressions to carry off her increasing domination of Alma. Both actresses excel in their respective roles. It is very much a film that people have been seeking the answers to ever since it was made. There are no clear resolutions in the film - just endless questions that will surely haunt viewers of this film for many more years to come.