Persona
-
Sun 20 November 2005 // 20:00
(Ingmar Bergman / Sweden / 82 min / 35mm / cert 15)
(Sun 20th / 8pm /£2)
Bergman's blistering deconstruction of self and individuality in the modern world marked a turning point in the career of the master miserablist. Having spent his early career establishing his reputation as Europe's foremost serious filmmaker, by the mid-sixties he was burned out and facing an existential crisis. Rather than go into therapy, he made 'Persona'. Visually bold and dynamic, Bergman re-invigorated his classical, european art-house style with a dazzling range of cinematic effects which lent his intellectual ideas a visceral and hypnotic effect. The dream-like tone of the story, where two women slowly merge their personalities in a remote cottage, clearly influenced subsequent works as diverse as 'Opening Night', 'Al About My Mother' and 'Mullholland Drive'. Not only a miserablist classic, but a defining moment in cinema history.
(Sun 20th / 8pm /£2)
Bergman's blistering deconstruction of self and individuality in the modern world marked a turning point in the career of the master miserablist. Having spent his early career establishing his reputation as Europe's foremost serious filmmaker, by the mid-sixties he was burned out and facing an existential crisis. Rather than go into therapy, he made 'Persona'. Visually bold and dynamic, Bergman re-invigorated his classical, european art-house style with a dazzling range of cinematic effects which lent his intellectual ideas a visceral and hypnotic effect. The dream-like tone of the story, where two women slowly merge their personalities in a remote cottage, clearly influenced subsequent works as diverse as 'Opening Night', 'Al About My Mother' and 'Mullholland Drive'. Not only a miserablist classic, but a defining moment in cinema history.