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Persona (1966)

 Persona (1966)
type
TVTItem
 Persona (1966)
label
Persona (1966)
 Persona (1966)
page
Persona1966
 Persona (1966)
comment
A 1966 psychological drama by Ingmar Bergman, starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann. As with much of Bergman's filmography, the movie rides heavily on symbolism and philosophy. Its plot is...hard to explain.At first, it is pretty straightforward: an actress named Elisabet Vogler (Ullmann) suddenly decides not to speak and is thus considered mentally ill. She and Alma (Andersson), the nurse who takes care of her, are sent to a Summer cottage in hopes that it will help nurse the actress back to health. Alma talks to her a lot, first about trivial things and then about increasingly personal matters, among them a sexual tryst Alma had with underage boys. When Alma happens to read a letter from Elisabet to her doctor, which has references to the tryst and other things Alma told her in confidence, plus a comment where Elisabet says she's "studying" Alma, Alma begins to suspect that Elisabet is toying with her. Cold war ensues.Whatever happens from there on is entirely up to you to guess. The director's lack of explanation does not help. However, it is still regarded as one of Bergman's best movies, and one of the greatest films of all time.Unrelated to the Persona video games, although Jungian psychology is a major theme in both.
 Persona (1966)
fetched
2023-05-28T22:43:49Z
 Persona (1966)
parsed
2023-05-28T22:43:49Z
 Persona (1966)
processingComment
Dropped link to BornInTheTheater: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Persona (1966)
processingComment
Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Persona (1966)
processingUnknown
BornInTheTheater
 Persona (1966)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Persona (1966) / int_127fc252
type
Creator Cameo
 Persona (1966) / int_127fc252
comment
Creator Cameo: Bergman's cameraman right at the end.
 Persona (1966) / int_127fc252
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_127fc252
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_127fc252
 Persona (1966) / int_1b122c5d
type
Scare Chord
 Persona (1966) / int_1b122c5d
comment
Scare Chord: Used a few times for disturbing imagery, like when half of Alma's face is put together with half of Elisabet's face to form one face.
 Persona (1966) / int_1b122c5d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_1b122c5d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_1b122c5d
 Persona (1966) / int_1b36b313
type
Mandatory Motherhood
 Persona (1966) / int_1b36b313
comment
Mandatory Motherhood: In the past, someone told Elisabet that the only thing she was lacking was being a mother. She had no interest in having children before, but what that person said bothered her, so she allowed herself to get pregnant without being sure of whether she really wanted it.
 Persona (1966) / int_1b36b313
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_1b36b313
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_1b36b313
 Persona (1966) / int_1e7487cd
type
Breaking the Fourth Wall
 Persona (1966) / int_1e7487cd
comment
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Things start to get weirder around the halfway point, in the scene where Elisabet enters Alma's room and starts caressing her, while both stare straight at the camera.
 Persona (1966) / int_1e7487cd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_1e7487cd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_1e7487cd
 Persona (1966) / int_315a122
type
Hospital Hottie
 Persona (1966) / int_315a122
comment
Hospital Hottie: Alma wears her full nurse uniform in the early scenes, and she's played by Bibi Andersson, so she qualifies.
 Persona (1966) / int_315a122
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_315a122
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1.0
 Persona (1966)
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Persona (1966) / int_315a122
 Persona (1966) / int_31fa019d
type
All Psychology Is Freudian
 Persona (1966) / int_31fa019d
comment
All Psychology Is Freudian: Averted — as the title suggests, psychology in this film is primarily based on Jung's ideas, which the viewer is apparently expected to know all about.
 Persona (1966) / int_31fa019d
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_31fa019d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_31fa019d
 Persona (1966) / int_48ca7c29
type
Broken Ace
 Persona (1966) / int_48ca7c29
comment
Broken Ace: Elisabet is a talented and respected actress and has a successful marriage and a son. Except she hates the kid and the very society she lives in, which leads her to become mute and need treatment.
 Persona (1966) / int_48ca7c29
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_48ca7c29
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1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_48ca7c29
 Persona (1966) / int_4b1afa0d
type
Spiteful Spit
 Persona (1966) / int_4b1afa0d
comment
Spiteful Spit: When Alma confronts Elisabet over her letters, they struggle for a bit and Elisabet slaps her. Alma responds by spitting at her.
 Persona (1966) / int_4b1afa0d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_4b1afa0d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_4b1afa0d
 Persona (1966) / int_4db42cf3
type
Male Frontal Nudity
 Persona (1966) / int_4db42cf3
comment
Male Frontal Nudity: The montage of surreal imagery that starts the film includes a brief shot—less than a second, but still recognizable—of an erect penis.
 Persona (1966) / int_4db42cf3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_4db42cf3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_4db42cf3
 Persona (1966) / int_4e7c4536
type
Wham Line
 Persona (1966) / int_4e7c4536
comment
Wham Line: A rare example that's shown in print instead of spoken. In Elisabet's letter, "Det är för övrigt mycket roligt att studera henne" ("In any case, it's a lot of fun studying her"), which reveals to Alma that Elisabet is messing with her for her own amusement.
 Persona (1966) / int_4e7c4536
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_4e7c4536
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_4e7c4536
 Persona (1966) / int_5009999d
type
Painting the Medium
 Persona (1966) / int_5009999d
comment
Painting the Medium: The director reminds us several times, through a few weird sequences, that this is only a movie.
 Persona (1966) / int_5009999d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_5009999d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_5009999d
 Persona (1966) / int_524f397c
type
Madden Into Misanthropy
 Persona (1966) / int_524f397c
comment
Madden Into Misanthropy: Apparently this is what happened to Elisabet. The stress of all the white lies people have to tell and the masks people have to wear drove her to stop talking to anyone.
 Persona (1966) / int_524f397c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_524f397c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_524f397c
 Persona (1966) / int_53b84f6d
type
Proscenium Reveal
 Persona (1966) / int_53b84f6d
comment
Proscenium Reveal: Does this a couple of times, most notably at the very end when the camera pans away from the actors to show the crew who have been there all along, filming what's supposed to be two women isolated on an island.
 Persona (1966) / int_53b84f6d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_53b84f6d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_53b84f6d
 Persona (1966) / int_545f8c91
type
Abortion Fallout Drama
 Persona (1966) / int_545f8c91
comment
Abortion Fallout Drama: Alma's darkest secret is getting an abortion after an orgiastic tryst with underage boys. When she recounts this, she burst into tears and talks about how she is haunted that she isn't living according to her values. This sets up the duality between her and Elisabet, who is outwardly a perfect mother but deeply resents her son after failing to abort him.
 Persona (1966) / int_545f8c91
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_545f8c91
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_545f8c91
 Persona (1966) / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 Persona (1966) / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Alma, which is Spanish and Portuguese for "soul".
 Persona (1966) / int_6bda9a30
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_6bda9a30
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_6bda9a30
 Persona (1966) / int_7115b262
type
Repeat Cut
 Persona (1966) / int_7115b262
comment
Repeat Cut: Does this with an entire scene: first, we see a monologue with the camera looking at who the speaker is talking to, and then we see the exact same monologue again, this time with the camera focusing on the speaker. Bonus points: this isn't a simple shot-reverse shot, this is an entire sequence, with each shot being a perfect mirror of the opposite angle for each corresponding shot.
 Persona (1966) / int_7115b262
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_7115b262
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_7115b262
 Persona (1966) / int_773b0523
type
Impaled Palm
 Persona (1966) / int_773b0523
comment
Impaled Palm: One of the surreal inserts that opens and closes the film is a shot of a palm getting a nail pounded through it Jesus-style.
 Persona (1966) / int_773b0523
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_773b0523
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_773b0523
 Persona (1966) / int_7ad0e492
type
Imaginary Friend
 Persona (1966) / int_7ad0e492
comment
Imaginary Friend: Although it's never really made clear in this Mind Screw of a movie, it's eventually at least hinted that "Elisabet"—the character played by Ullmann, that is—is not real, and is actually a figment of the imagination of "Alma" (Andersson) who is the real Elisabet. Note the scene where Elisabet's husband shows up and calls Alma "Elisabet". Alma denies it at first but then starts talking to the husband like she actually is Elisabet. Meanwhile, the husband does not seem to perceive the presence of Liv Ullmann when she shows up in the scene. Note also how the camera cuts to Ullmann just as Alma, apparently in "Elisabet" mode, shouts "It's all just sham and lies!" This is also strongly implied towards the end with the famous Repeat Cut address scenes—Elisabet as Alma addresses her, then a cut to Alma doing the talking, then a horrified Alma insisting that she is not Elisabet, then a shot with one half of each character's face joined together to make a whole.
 Persona (1966) / int_7ad0e492
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_7ad0e492
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_7ad0e492
 Persona (1966) / int_81045f89
type
Juxtaposed Halves Shot
 Persona (1966) / int_81045f89
comment
Juxtaposed Halves Shot: Alma and Elisabet in the climax of the film. Their faces are juxtaposed to show that their individual identities have become indistinguishable from each other (or they've melded, or they were each other all along, or something). When Bergman first showed the shot to his actresses, they both turned to each other and said in unison "But that's an awful photo of you - wait, what?"
 Persona (1966) / int_81045f89
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_81045f89
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_81045f89
 Persona (1966) / int_82accf22
type
Gainax Ending
 Persona (1966) / int_82accf22
comment
Gainax Ending: Alma and Elisabet packing up to leave, a ghostly Elisabet caressing Alma in the mirror, Alma leaving alone as Elisabet seems to have disappeared, brief shots showing Alma seemingly acting out the memory of a stage play that was Elisabet's. Then a shot of Ingmar Bergman filming the movie, and a shot of film running out of the camera and the arc light going out.
 Persona (1966) / int_82accf22
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_82accf22
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_82accf22
 Persona (1966) / int_8387bb18
type
Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 Persona (1966) / int_8387bb18
comment
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted. Alma talks about having an abortion after getting pregnant, and Elisabet (supposedly) tried to abort her baby but failed.
 Persona (1966) / int_8387bb18
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_8387bb18
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_8387bb18
 Persona (1966) / int_868409c
type
Broken Pedestal
 Persona (1966) / int_868409c
comment
Broken Pedestal: Alma seems to look up to Elisabet as an actress at first. When it turns out Elisabet is writing about Alma in a rather condescending tone in her letters, Alma loses her respect for her and starts hating her.
 Persona (1966) / int_868409c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_868409c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_868409c
 Persona (1966) / int_8e3b5b4d
type
Minimalist Cast
 Persona (1966) / int_8e3b5b4d
comment
Minimalist Cast: There's only four or five (if you think the boy from the prologue is meaningful) characters in the whole film. It's only Alma and Elisabet who are onscreen for the great majority of the film, with the head doctor and Elisabet's husband being in it very briefly.
 Persona (1966) / int_8e3b5b4d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_8e3b5b4d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_8e3b5b4d
 Persona (1966) / int_9853e107
type
Elective Mute
 Persona (1966) / int_9853e107
comment
Elective Mute: Elisabet has been sent to recuperate after suddenly deciding to stop speaking; the number of times she speaks during the film can be counted on one hand and all of them may just be imagined by the characters.
 Persona (1966) / int_9853e107
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_9853e107
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_9853e107
 Persona (1966) / int_a54534a0
type
Parental Neglect
 Persona (1966) / int_a54534a0
comment
Parental Neglect: One of the reasons for Elisabet's condition, recounted by Alma in the film's climax, is having a son she didn't want and who she can't bring herself to love. It's said the son lives with relatives and Elisabet only sees him sporadically and unwillingly.
 Persona (1966) / int_a54534a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_a54534a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_a54534a0
 Persona (1966) / int_bef696dd
type
Mind Screw
 Persona (1966) / int_bef696dd
comment
Mind Screw: Just what the hell is going on here? Is Elisabet real? Are Elisabet and Alma the same person? What do the brief clips from some old slapstick silent comedynote Actually a clip from Bergman's earlier film The Devil's Wanton signify? Why is there a penis?
 Persona (1966) / int_bef696dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_bef696dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_bef696dd
 Persona (1966) / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Persona (1966) / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: In the strange interlude after Alma hurts Elisabet with a piece of glass, a scream from Tystnaden can be heard.
 Persona (1966) / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_c75df49a
 Persona (1966) / int_e5b75009
type
"Psycho" Strings
 Persona (1966) / int_e5b75009
comment
"Psycho" Strings: You could almost mistake this for a horror movie at certain points (the montage of strange, sometimes disturbing images at the beginning may well remind you of The Ring), and the music reinforces this.
 Persona (1966) / int_e5b75009
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_e5b75009
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_e5b75009
 Persona (1966) / int_f1e6402d
type
Suddenly Speaking
 Persona (1966) / int_f1e6402d
comment
Suddenly Speaking: Elisabet, who spends most of the film in silence, speaks in three instances, though it may not have happened. It's interesting to note that the camera avoids showing Elisabet's mouth moving in the first two instances.
 Persona (1966) / int_f1e6402d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_f1e6402d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_f1e6402d
 Persona (1966) / int_f6f2bd52
type
Melting-Film Effect
 Persona (1966) / int_f6f2bd52
comment
Melting-Film Effect: Trope Codifier at the least, as this is just one of the ways Bergman reminds you his movie is only a movie.
 Persona (1966) / int_f6f2bd52
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_f6f2bd52
featureConfidence
1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_f6f2bd52
 Persona (1966) / int_ff7f34c5
type
Pet the Dog
 Persona (1966) / int_ff7f34c5
comment
Pet the Dog: It's a minor thing, but Elisabet gives Alma something to drink after their short fight caused by Alma revealing she knows what Elisabet said about her in her letter.
 Persona (1966) / int_ff7f34c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_ff7f34c5
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1.0
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Persona (1966) / int_ff7f34c5
 Persona (1966) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Persona (1966) / int_name
comment
 Persona (1966) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Persona (1966) / int_name
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1.0
 Persona (1966)
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Persona (1966) / int_name
 Persona (1966) / int_name
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Persona (1966)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Abortion Fallout Drama / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Elective Mute / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Jekyll & Hyde / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Juxtaposed Halves Shot / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Madden Into Misanthropy / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Melting-Film Effect / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Minimalist Cast / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Proscenium Reveal / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Repeat Cut / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
Spiteful Spit / int_665850da
 Persona (1966)
hasFeature
The Voiceless / int_665850da