Post by klep on May 2, 2016 6:42:34 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/2: Persona
Persona is one of those films that's spoken of in hushed tones. It's one of Ingmar Bergman's most renowned works, which puts it in company with films like The Seventh Seal and previous Movie of the Week Fanny and Alexander.
In Persona, Bergman is dealing with existential questions of identity and value of the self. Its two main characters Elisabet (Liv Ullmann) and Alma (Bibi Andersson) both are struggling with them, albeit in different ways. Elisabet has become so disturbed by life that she has retreated from it entirely, neither eating nor speaking and isolating herself in a hospital. Alma is not nearly so forceful. She's trying to live her life out by the course set for her - nursing, marrying her fiancé Karl-Hendrik (who never appears in the film), and eventually raising a family. But it's also clear she's not certain that's what she really wants. She's unsatisfied, but can't say why.
The two of them end up at a summer cottage by the coast, with the idea that the environment might help Elisabet to come back out of her shell. The two have no one there to interact with except each other, which naturally ends up with Alma spilling her guts to Elisabet and gently prodding her patient to open up. But because Elisabet has such a strong personality - even while silent - Alma finds herself falling into her; telling more of herself than she intended and imagining herself in Elisabet and vice versa. Eventually reality must catch up to Alma though, and when it does the women's relationship begins to fray and tear - resulting in a number of breathtakingly dramatic moments as the film finds its way to a close.
Bergman's cinematographer for this film was the great Sven Nykvist, and it's possibly the most brilliant work of his brilliant career. He manipulates the black & white like there is no light in the universe he cannot precisely control. Scenes of conflict are shot in razor-sharp contrast, while some scenes that may or may not be dream sequences are filmed in a much softer, almost gauzy manner. In addition, the lack of color further blurs the differences between Andersson and Ullmann, making it easier to see each in the others and empathize with Alma's increasingly tenuous grasp on herself.
There are few movies that make me gasp as much as this one, even on rewatching. What is your favorite shot or moment?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/9: Barry Lyndon
Our next Movie of the Week is Stanley Kubrick's lush period drama Barry Lyndon. It won the Best Period Drama Oscars (Costumes/Art Direction-Set Decoration), but also won Best Cinematography. As one of the few Kubricks I have yet to watch, I'm personally excited for this one. Barry Lyndon is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/28: Green Room
I'll be putting up a thread for discussing Jeremy Saulnier's sophomore effort Green Room on Wednesday, but I won't be able to say much about it myself because I haven't had a chance to see it. Green Room may be in a theater near you, but not near me.
Persona is one of those films that's spoken of in hushed tones. It's one of Ingmar Bergman's most renowned works, which puts it in company with films like The Seventh Seal and previous Movie of the Week Fanny and Alexander.
In Persona, Bergman is dealing with existential questions of identity and value of the self. Its two main characters Elisabet (Liv Ullmann) and Alma (Bibi Andersson) both are struggling with them, albeit in different ways. Elisabet has become so disturbed by life that she has retreated from it entirely, neither eating nor speaking and isolating herself in a hospital. Alma is not nearly so forceful. She's trying to live her life out by the course set for her - nursing, marrying her fiancé Karl-Hendrik (who never appears in the film), and eventually raising a family. But it's also clear she's not certain that's what she really wants. She's unsatisfied, but can't say why.
The two of them end up at a summer cottage by the coast, with the idea that the environment might help Elisabet to come back out of her shell. The two have no one there to interact with except each other, which naturally ends up with Alma spilling her guts to Elisabet and gently prodding her patient to open up. But because Elisabet has such a strong personality - even while silent - Alma finds herself falling into her; telling more of herself than she intended and imagining herself in Elisabet and vice versa. Eventually reality must catch up to Alma though, and when it does the women's relationship begins to fray and tear - resulting in a number of breathtakingly dramatic moments as the film finds its way to a close.
Bergman's cinematographer for this film was the great Sven Nykvist, and it's possibly the most brilliant work of his brilliant career. He manipulates the black & white like there is no light in the universe he cannot precisely control. Scenes of conflict are shot in razor-sharp contrast, while some scenes that may or may not be dream sequences are filmed in a much softer, almost gauzy manner. In addition, the lack of color further blurs the differences between Andersson and Ullmann, making it easier to see each in the others and empathize with Alma's increasingly tenuous grasp on herself.
There are few movies that make me gasp as much as this one, even on rewatching. What is your favorite shot or moment?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/9: Barry Lyndon
Our next Movie of the Week is Stanley Kubrick's lush period drama Barry Lyndon. It won the Best Period Drama Oscars (Costumes/Art Direction-Set Decoration), but also won Best Cinematography. As one of the few Kubricks I have yet to watch, I'm personally excited for this one. Barry Lyndon is available for rental on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/28: Green Room
I'll be putting up a thread for discussing Jeremy Saulnier's sophomore effort Green Room on Wednesday, but I won't be able to say much about it myself because I haven't had a chance to see it. Green Room may be in a theater near you, but not near me.