Oh well here's another film that will ensure I don't win critic of the year any time soon (and were it not for occasional things like this I must have surely been right in contention?) Persona is the 1966 release from the late Ingmar Bergman who is heralded by many as one of the greatest directors of all time. I've only seen 1 of his other works: Cries and Whispers - a film I enjoyed to some extent but have reservations about. Yet Cries and Whispers now seems like a masterpiece compared to Persona which at 90 minutes felt around 88 minutes too long. The opening 2 minutes are taken up by a montage of shots which play like the sort of composition you'd find in a modern art gallery. There's an erect penis, an upside down cartoon man falling, a nail being hammered into a hand. These images may be chosen to represent those things most important to man: sex, religion, cartoons (okay not sure what the cartoon was for). But it is not as if Bergman's film runs with these things throughout his film. Maybe there's a sexual overtone to it, and there's a scene in which one of the characters explicitly recounts details of a sexual liaison, but I don't really see the significance of the opening montage. Especially not the part crucifixion or falling cartoon man.
My biggest criticism of Persona is that I really didn't feel that this is a movie designed for the cinema screen. It's challenging and unique for sure but is it superbly acted? Is there a wonderful score? Is there stunning cinematography? Is there a cinematic scope to the film? Is the production design something to behold? Is there in fact anything that demands that Persona should be delivered through the medium of cinema?
There's a sparseness to the entire picture that would suit a small intimate playhouse. It's not as if you can't have challenging and unique and make it cinematic. Give me David Lynch any day for that. Ingmar Bergman's Persona just didn't work for me as a film and would have worked far more as a play. Stagey films can work - heck I like the stagiest of them all: Dogville. But Persona is not a film I'll be returning to any time soon and they'll have to delay that critic of the year award as I'm going to give it a:
D-
My biggest criticism of Persona is that I really didn't feel that this is a movie designed for the cinema screen. It's challenging and unique for sure but is it superbly acted? Is there a wonderful score? Is there stunning cinematography? Is there a cinematic scope to the film? Is the production design something to behold? Is there in fact anything that demands that Persona should be delivered through the medium of cinema?
There's a sparseness to the entire picture that would suit a small intimate playhouse. It's not as if you can't have challenging and unique and make it cinematic. Give me David Lynch any day for that. Ingmar Bergman's Persona just didn't work for me as a film and would have worked far more as a play. Stagey films can work - heck I like the stagiest of them all: Dogville. But Persona is not a film I'll be returning to any time soon and they'll have to delay that critic of the year award as I'm going to give it a:
D-
3 comments:
Mr Lapish, you should know better than to make comments like 'I won't win critic of the year'! This is a great review and you've got very legitimate reasons why you don't like the film. If snobs just like films just because they've heard they should like it because it's by director y or whatever, then they are the ones that lack true critical perspective. Much more interesting to hear a famous director criticised along these lines! Very interesting review, never seen one of Bergman's films and am now wondering whether I should...
Well thanks, although I just picked up a typo - for those that read Dogma as the stagiest film ever and wondered what the fuck I was on about, I of course meant Dogville.
Anyway Mr Edge, I suspect you'll like Bergman but maybe Persona isn't the place to start.
I tried watching Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal' once when I was in Univ. and fall asleep midway. It's been a while since I started to watch another one, 'Wild Strawberries', and this time I didn't fell asleep. Anyway, I didn't feel I like Bergman's films as much. His metaphorical theme is too much for me.
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