Alma, The Nurse
Search results
Persona is a 1966 Swedish avant-garde psychological drama film [n 1] written, directed, and produced by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann. The story revolves around a young nurse named Alma (Andersson) and her patient, well-known stage actress Elisabet Vogler (Ullmann), who has suddenly stopped speaking.
Two of his leading ladies (and, ahem, loves), Bibi Andersson and 25 year-old Liv Ullmann, star as a nurse and an actress, who for the bulk of the film are at a Doctor's cottage as the nurse tries to help and likely cure Elisabeth of her ailment (froze on stage, silent but incredibly observant).
- (132K)
- Drama, Thriller
- Ingmar Bergman
- 1967-03-16
- The Illusion of Reality in Bergman’s “Persona”
- What Drives Elisabet’s Rejection of Identity and Conventional Security?
- Is Elisabet’s Silence A Rejection of Life’S Facades?
- A Growing Bond: Unveiling Secrets in The Summer House
- The Changing Dynamics Between The Nurse and The Patient
- What Alma Finds in The Elisabet’s Unsealed envelope?
- Does Elisabet’s Letter Undermine The Authenticity of Her Silence?
- The True Emotional Reaction from Elisabet
“Persona” opens with a projector showing a series of disparate images (a projector lamp comes to life), including images from the birth of cinema (a silent slapstick comedy), a spider, a crucifixion, and the slaughter of a lamb. These imageries can be interpreted as Bergman laying bare the artifice and illusory nature of cinema, produced through li...
Twenty-five-year-old Alma introduces herself to Elisabet. Alma mentions that she is engaged, and her mother also worked as a nurse. Of course, Elisabet remains unresponsive. When the doctor questions Alma regarding her first impression, the young nurse says she isn’t mentally equipped to care for Elisabet. She feels the actress needs a more experie...
In the hospital, Elisabet is restless and unable to sleep. On the TV, she watches the images of a monk’s self-immolation during the Vietnam War. It profoundly distresses her as she cowers in the room’s one corner. The following day, Alma reads a letter Elisabet received from her husband. The husband harbors guilt, wondering whether it is his action...
The narrative’s next chapter unfolds in the summer house (shot at Bergman’s home island of Faro). A voiceover describes Elisabet going for long walks, fishing excursions, occupying herself with letter writing, and cooking. Nurse Alma also enjoys the isolated stay in the countryside. The initial phase of the retreat is marked with joy as Alma freely...
The vividly expressive nurse recalls an event when she and Karl-Henrik rented a cottage by the seaside. One day, when Karl-Henrik went to town, Alma went to the beach on her own. She met with another girl, Katarina, from a nearby island. Wearing straw hats, they were sunbathing completely naked. Soon, Alma notices two figures hovering from above. I...
What follows feels like something out of a dream for Alma. First, the nurse (and us) hear Elisabet saying, “Go to bed, or you’ll fall asleep at the table.”We don’t see Elisabet’s face as these words are uttered, so there’s a question of whether Alma imagined it. Then, we see Elisabet entering Alma’s room like a ghost, embracing Alma and caressing h...
Elisabet writing a letter and casually revealing Alma’s secrets also raises the question of the actress’s purpose for the silence. As the doctor says in the monologue, didn’t Elisabet shut herself in ‘to not play any parts or make wrong gestures’?However, the communication in the form of a letter reveals something about the actress’ inherent person...
As Elisabet keeps reading her book, Alma laments about her false understanding that great artists will be compassionate. Alma accuses Elisabet of using her for a purpose. Then, the nurse confesses that she read Elisabet’s letter to the doctor. While Elisabet tries to evade Alma, Alma gets increasingly furious, which leads to a minor altercation tha...
Jan 7, 2001 · Persona. Drama. 83 minutes ‧ 1967. Roger Ebert. January 7, 2001. 6 min read. Shakespeare used six words to pose the essential human choice: “To be, or not to be?” Elizabeth, a character in Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona,” uses two to answer it: “No, don’t!”
Over the next several weeks, as Anna struggles to reach her mute patient, the two women find themselves experiencing a strange emotional convergence. Prime Video Max Apple TV. Watch Persona with...
- (56)
- Bibi Andersson
- Ingmar Bergman
- Svensk Filmindustri
Liv & Ingmar, a 2012 feature documentary directed by Dheeraj Akolkar. Trailer. New English subtitle translation. PLUS: An essay by film scholar Thomas Elsaesser, an excerpt from the 1970 book Bergman on Bergman, and an excerpted 1977 interview with Andersson. New cover by Sarah Habibi.
Summaries. A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together. A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.
