"Persona"

In actuality I find myself struggle a little at what I thought of “Persona.” I liked it, but I didn’t at the same time. I think while I was watching it I was annoyed with the flashing of random images and sometimes many clips were in there that did not actually add or take away from the story – they were just there and I found that to be very odd. But then I think back to specific scenes, particularly ones that involved Sister Alma spilling her guts to Elisabeth, or them at the sea and I am intrigued. I liked how you definitely know from the start that you are going to have to watch this movie a few times to really grasp what’s going on and what all the symbolism is about. That is one thing I really did enjoy about the film, the constant symbolism and metaphors. I didn’t get all of them, I do admit and some may get bothered by that but I liked how things had a hidden meaning and even now I am trying to think back to what this meant and that meant. Like with the glass that Sister Alma deliberately leaves on the ground for Elisabeth to step on. Or when Ingmar Bergman put in Sister Alma’s monologue in twice. One with the focus on Elisabeth and the other with the focus on Sister Alma. I wonder the symbolism behind all of that and what the purpose was. I can guess that it was to make the viewer really focus upon “the artist”, Elisabeth, and her reaction to what had happened to her and then to see “the subject”, Sister Alma, and how her resentment for being the subject of Elisabeth’s skill and how this story makes her see what Elisabeth truly is and why she is taking care of her. It is all very complicated and I enjoy that. Also, with the artist and subject, that is how I see this movie. Elisabeth is “the artist”, for all intensive purposes, and likewise for Sister Alma to be “the subject.” Elisabeth’s craft is to study people, pick up their traits, and in turn better her skills as a great and accomplished actress. The thing that gets me is, what really happened to her to make her completely change out of the blue from a vibrant, upcoming actress to a recluse, who completely fell off track. I feel like there was something else besides the hatred of her son, and for some reason I keep coming back to the idea of a hatred of men. There is kind of a theme of men wanting too much from women throughout the movie, or at least over powering them. Like the expectation for Elisabeth to have a child, the boys at the beach who have sex with Sister Alma, and Elisabeth’s son who longs for her attention and love.  Maybe that is what the move is about putting on a “persona” for men.  But I think there must be a few meanings.
Then there is the style of the movie, which I loved. I respected the way the images were so crisp in their grays and contrasts and values. I really thought that it contributed wholeheartedly to the mood of the piece. Rubens said that it was as if every frame was painting or a picture which I totally agree with. I feel like I could go to any scene pause and I could take that picture and put it on my wall. The composition of each frame was so perfectly set and for that I think of Ingmar Bergman as a true artist. One beautiful scene I remember from the movie was when Sister Alma is in her bathing suit and a straw hat and is sitting on a small bench outside the house where the doors are all open and the curtains are flowing in and out from the wind. They looked so silky and she looked so warm, and it felt comfortable, desirable, and balmy, even in black and white. I think it actually was stronger in the black and white. Her bathing suit and body would not have stood out as so organically in that scene and the curtains, although would have looked soft, would have lost their beauty in contrast to the flatness of the house and the porch area. Overall, after I do my drawing I plan to watch this movie again, to not only attempt again to gain new ideas on what the concept of the film is but also to enjoy the well formatted pictures of Bergman.