[Solucet]

16. Persona

I've stated before that my tastes tend to gravitate towards the pretentious, and this film is certainly no exception to that; it's certainly not for everyone, but I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen. This film is slow and methodical, wildly open to interpretation, and viscerally emotional. The narrative itself is secondary -- in that way, it's almost a deconstructivist film, relying upon visual poetry and powerful emotion more than a straight-forward, dramatic narrative.

In essence, the structure of the film follows a nurse, Alma, who has been charged with the care of a mute actress named Elisabeth. Throughout the film, Alma continues to talk to Elisabeth -- who does not reciprocate -- eventually revealing deeply held secrets, profoundly existential quandaries, hopes, fears... and finds that her own persona is being swallowed by the mute Elisabeth.

Extraordinarily good. And just because I feel like my description does absolutely no justice to the film itself, here's an excerpt of the dialogue in it (coming from a doctor caring for Elisabeth):

"I understand, all right. The hopeless dream of being -- not seeming, but being. At every waking moment, alert. The gulf between what you are with others and what you are alone. The vertigo and the constant hunger to be exposed, to be seen through, perhaps even wiped out. Every inflection and every gesture a lie, every smile a grimace. Suicide? No, too vulgar. But you can refuse to move -- refuse to talk, so that you don't have to lie. You can shut yourself in. Then you needn't play any parts or make wrong gestures. Or so you thought. But reality is diabolical. Your hiding place isn't watertight -- life trickles in from the outside, and you're forced to react. No one asks if it is true or false, if you're genuine or just a sham. Such things matter only in the theatre, and hardly there, either. I understand why you don't speak, why you don't move, why you've created a part for yourself out of apathy. I understand. I admire. You should go on with this part until it is played out, until it loses interest for you. Then you can leave it, just as you've left your other parts one by one."

Actually, having recommended this film, I would highly recommend just about anything else directed by Ingmar Bergman -- certainly one of my favorite directors of all time.