Sven Nykvist Memorial - Day 2: Persona

I've seen Persona 3 or 4 times, and it always has an amazing effect on me; every time, it feels completely new, as if I'm seeing it for the very first time. The most avant-garde of Bergman's films, Persona both defies and begs for explanation and analysis. From the opening frames, it calls attention to itself and announces that it won't play on the level, and it won't conform to any of the ideas about cinema that we've come to know and expect. Call it a dream, call it a hallucination, call it stylized, call it an allegory, call it art. One thing's for sure; this is not reality- this is pure film.

Persona is both Bergman and Nykvist at the heights of their creativity. This is one of the few films where Nykvist's camera calls attention to itself, but that's because it's completely necessary in the film. Everything here is stylized and like nothing we've ever seen before, or since. All throughout it, there's an uneasy feeling that attacks your senses and ensures that your mind and soul spend 83 minutes in completely uncharted territory.