It begins again. The triumphant attempt to continue to watch everything. Let's see where this takes us. Continuing with the suggestions from "The Village Voice", I jumped headfirst (literally and quite punny) into Persona. This is sadly, and rather ironically my premiere Bergman film. Shocked as it sounds, I am glad my journey started here - on such a high note without the pressures of watching a cliche-Bergman.
It was, it will be, it will always continue to be Persona, unknown as to the true meaning of what Bergman's message truly was about these two women struggling with each other to truly understand their own moral dilemmas, but it worked. It worked in 1966 when he made this film, and it works today in 2009. As an early film within the year, it is an honor to be a part of a select few to have seen this. It bended my mind, in such a way that required another viewing, and another viewing, and another viewing.
It was shown at FILM CLUB #50 as my attempt to bring the unknown to the table, and our group of nine devoured it. Our conversations ranged from where this film began, the idea of the child, the religious undertones, the idea of femininity, and sin. I am sure there was more, but couldn't spend all night - could we? Our scores ranged from 6 to somewhere in the high 8s. It challenged our minds, but also opened our hearts to a brave new world of cinema. Just another day at FILM CLUB.
Persona gets a green mark with blue stars because its ability to keep my attention through the end. Its ability to make me feel uncomfortable, to make me chuckle a bit, and to question the true sanity of our characters. Its cinematography couldn't be recreated in today's technology even if we tried, and the sudden Lynch-ian moments just heightened my cinematic senses. This was "a motion picture" to quote my friend Doug, and it should be watched again and again to fully comprehend the scope that Bergman was reaching for.
My score for this film is an 8 and growing. I will be watching this film again as I approach it in further books. I will be suggesting this to friends, family, or film snobs that just can't get enough carnal knowledge.
It was, it will be, it will always continue to be Persona, unknown as to the true meaning of what Bergman's message truly was about these two women struggling with each other to truly understand their own moral dilemmas, but it worked. It worked in 1966 when he made this film, and it works today in 2009. As an early film within the year, it is an honor to be a part of a select few to have seen this. It bended my mind, in such a way that required another viewing, and another viewing, and another viewing.
It was shown at FILM CLUB #50 as my attempt to bring the unknown to the table, and our group of nine devoured it. Our conversations ranged from where this film began, the idea of the child, the religious undertones, the idea of femininity, and sin. I am sure there was more, but couldn't spend all night - could we? Our scores ranged from 6 to somewhere in the high 8s. It challenged our minds, but also opened our hearts to a brave new world of cinema. Just another day at FILM CLUB.
Persona gets a green mark with blue stars because its ability to keep my attention through the end. Its ability to make me feel uncomfortable, to make me chuckle a bit, and to question the true sanity of our characters. Its cinematography couldn't be recreated in today's technology even if we tried, and the sudden Lynch-ian moments just heightened my cinematic senses. This was "a motion picture" to quote my friend Doug, and it should be watched again and again to fully comprehend the scope that Bergman was reaching for.
My score for this film is an 8 and growing. I will be watching this film again as I approach it in further books. I will be suggesting this to friends, family, or film snobs that just can't get enough carnal knowledge.
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