Persona

Persona

One of cinema's greatest and most complex studies of human desire, Persona provides a defining blueprint for the on-screen exploration of shifting personalities in female relationships. After a well-known stage actress falls inexplicably mute, she is appointed a nurse to aid her in her recovery.

In a remote country house, the two women initially form a tentative relationship, but as time passes the bond grows increasingly fervent, until the question of who is looking after who becomes apparent and the duo's identities begin to merge.

With its stark black and white photography, the film is stylistically cold, while still conveying a fathomable sense of eroticism. And Bergman's motif of blending the two women's faces provides the perfect visual symbol of two lives bleeding into each other. A masterful expression of unspoken passion.

Michael Blyth

The Shape Of A Heart

Image and language combine in a beautifully layered meditation on memory and desire.