Persona

This film was incredible. It blew me away in every way possible. It was wonderfully shot, the plot was very interesting, and the presentation of things was intriguing and psychologically challenging. On top of that it was all very well acted. In terms of how everything was shot, Bergman had a very nice progression through the whole film. At the start of the film, most of the scenes are very neutrally toned and calm, but as the film gets more ambiguous and the psychological state of its characters becomes questionable, the compositions of each scene becomes more dynamic and the lighting is more dramatic. There is a great point in the film where the nurse character starts to question herself and the film is physically altered in reaction to this. It signals a turning point in the film and I thought it was a great way to visually articulate the psychological state of the characters. I will try not to give away too much as I talk about the way this film is ended too. I think the brilliance is in how ambiguously Bergman ends things. It is never completely clear which character is the persona and which is the "real" person. When I realized that this question would never be answered for me, I was frustrated but also very impressed. I think everyone in our film class must watch this because its not only a great story but also has great examples of ways to visually communicate the psychological content of the film.