6/30/15
3.5/4
Persona is perhaps the most layered film I have ever seen. It's insanely ambitious with respect to its artistry and content; I read that it may be considered Bergman's masterpiece over any of his other movies, but I deny this notion, with what little understanding I have of him-- I think it's probably just his most overt film. Shame dealt with a lot, I feel, but it was probably more focused and more subtle. Persona bombards the viewer with idea after idea, grimace after grimace, a profound discomfort most of the way through. Bergman throws all of his genius together into a flurry of images and sounds: Persona is aesthetically, philosophically, conceptually rich.
I found Persona to be in some way more accessible to me than Shame or The Seventh Seal, despite its being impossible to deconstruct from one viewing. It was much easier to experience fully-- to engage with mind and body. Whereas other films lately have demanded me to put forth my self to be affected, with Persona I would need the effort to run away from it. It's enthralling, despite its what may be incoherency. It reminds me significantly of Mulholland Drive: the two female leads, the preppy blonde in descent and the darker, troubled brunette, the psychosexual intensity lying beneath the relationship, the shifting identities... the possibility of being senseless, chaotic, and having no other objective but to throw the viewer into the madness of a psychotically-existential cognitive experience.
Persona was beautifully artistic; I loved how Bergman directed with such boldness and such an emphasis on ideas. The performances were extraordinary-- I have a growing attachment to Liv Ullman, her bold, depressed features, and her acting as the existential woman.
I had a great experience with Persona, a film made with clear brilliance, though I may be more attracted to Bergman's more subtle, less hedonistic films.
No comments:
Post a Comment