Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

red_schonewille The movie fits well at the beginning of a new year. The two woman reminds me of the two faces of a Janus. Janus was a roman god related to ends and beginnings. It was the door between them. Januari is derived from that. People here come to a full circle and afterwards they move on. It's easy to see that the much more bombastic film Ofret by Tarkovsky was an ode to this film.

Bill Phillips Ingmar Bergman's "navel gazing" just doesn't stand the test of time. It's not enlightening, it's just painful to watch. The collage of images before the opening credits are somewhat grotesque and particularly "nonsequitur" such as the graphic depiction of crucifixion. Midway through the film the description of a casual sexual foursome on a beach just seems out of place and nonsensical in the story line. In the 60's all of us naive movie enthusiasts were maybe taken in by Bergman's ground breaking departure with conventional movie styles. But, today, many writer/directors can run circles around him for introspection with content and meaning.... Pedro Almodovar and Kenneth Lonergan to name a couple.

Brian Berta Film historian and professor Thomas Elsaesser once said "...writing about Persona has been for film critics and scholars what climbing Everest is for mountaineers: the ultimate professional challenge." I completely agree with him. Despite being under 90 minutes, this film is probably one of the most complex films I've run into in years. After I finished it, I didn't even know where to start when attempting to analyze it. However, after thinking about it for a little bit, I formed a basic summary for it, and things kept going uphill from there.A nurse named Alma is put in charge of a mute actress named Elisabet Vogler. She talks to her numerous times without ever receiving an answer. Eventually, the 2 go to a beach house. After living with each other for a little while, the story twists into a bizarre and complex story beyond realism.Many of the analysis's that I've read argue that either Alma is Elisabet's persona or vice versa. Those are interesting interpretations. However, I think that both women are personas of the boy we see at the beginning and, briefly, at the end of the film. In the movie, we learn that both Alma and Elisabet got pregnant and had an abortion. We also learn that Elisabet's baby survived, and she gave him away to a nanny. I think that that is what happened to the boy. When I was first introduced to him, I got a slight vibe that he's being mistreated at his current home since his bed looked really unappealing. He wasn't given a pillow and he only had one thin bed sheet. He also didn't have much clothes on. I felt like he could've been slightly insecure due to his seemingly poor treatment (this explains some of the seemingly random imagery at the beginning and the middle of the film, although I'm not sure about the film reels).With that being said, I think that the personas of the 2 women represented the boy's depiction of his mother. He likely has a negative opinion of his mom since she abandoned him and left him in a dull environment. It seems like he's punishing both of the women initially. Elisabet is being punished as he's not allowing her to talk. Alma's initial punishment is a little harder to figure out, but it's possible that the boy finds her having to watch over an insane patient (Elisabet) as a punishment since they become isolated with each other. After Alma tells of how she got pregnant, we can assume that the boy is especially upset at her due to the different things that happen to her. We see that Elisabet is trying to mail Alma's sex story to the public, Elisabet gives her a bloody nose in a fight, and Alma is negatively effected when Elisabet attempts to leave her alone at the beach house (she breaks down crying at one point). This goes on for a little while, but we see the boy change his focus after Elisabet reveals a similar story which seems more plausible since we learn that she was unable to abort her baby. This scene is famously repeated in the film, which could mean that the boy is trying to confirm that it really was her.Bergman usually nails cinematography really well in his films. Bergman also handled the visual aspect expertly in this movie as well. It is, quite possibly, the most visually impressive of his films. Images of the beach and cleverly lit rooms are beautiful to look at. There are also some scenes which have a somewhat surreal quality to them. The movie is able to use simple camera movements to create these. An early example of this is when Alma is talking to the Doctor near the beginning. The camera is usually pointed at her for most of their conversation, and on the 2nd time she meets with her, the camera is only focused on Alma, and we just hear the doctor's voice. There are several of these shots throughout the film. I also really liked the surreal imagery at the beginning of the film. It made that sequence really memorable, and it informed me of the complicated film that would follow it. Also, on my re-watch, I noticed how the movie constantly focused on hands. There were numerous shots which seemed to draw attention to hands almost like it was a motif. These shots tended to stick out quite a lot. It's possible that those shots were supposed to represent reaching out into the unfathomable depths of someone. This fits in with the scene at the beginning pretty well when the boy reaches out and touches a screen with both women's faces on it. I think that Bergman was sort of giving us a clue as how to go about interpreting his film.In conclusion, this movie is a masterpiece. It's incredibly complicated with a lot of obscure imagery and set pieces, and it has great visuals as well. It's always great to see a challenging film which requires you to think every now and then. This movie, however, feels incredibly complicated and more so than other complex films that I've seen. I didn't enjoy Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" that much, but this movie was definitely worth my time. I'm going to look into Bergman more in the future.

SnoopyStyle Actress Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann) has lost the ability to talk. The doctor can find no medical reason for it. Sister Alma (Bibi Andersson) is a nurse put in charge of Elisabet. Alma talks to Elisabet and eventually starts revealing intimate details of her life. Alma becomes more volatile but Elisabet is still unable to talk.This is truly a film rather than a movie. The visual style is stark black and white. There are snippets of surreal imagery. There are iconic Bergman blocking. It is so iconic that some even mock it in satires. The central idea of the duo personality is poetic. Of course, I'm not smart enough to decipher it without help. Essentially, this is mostly one long monologue from Alma to Elisabet. The narrative gets tiring. This may be an iconic film but it's not for me.