Persona. 1966. Sweden. Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. In Swedish; English subtitles. 81 min.
Cinematography by Sven Nykvist. With Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Margaretha Krook. Saluted by critic Robin Wood for its courage, Bergman’s strange film is highly troubling, intense, and personal, an example of that dying breed of pictures that make little effort to give audiences instant satisfaction and easy comprehension. Following the somewhat religion-obsessed trilogy of Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence, Bergman digs even deeper into human psyche and identity. While acknowledging his difficulty in understanding the film, Andrew Sarris cites it as an exemplar of the “mystery and magic of Bergman’s art.”