Persona - Ingmar Bergman - Sven Nykvist

This should have perhaps been the first film I covered in this blog, as it was the one which really got me into both art cinema and cinematography. Persona is one of my all-time favourite films, just as Bergman is a favourite director (second only to Tarkovsky) and Nykvist a favourite cinematographer (maybe joint with Sacha Vierny).

The images present in this film are both terrifying and beautiful. Nykvist uses shadows and faces in such wonderful ways to give the film a look which is instantly identifiable. Many of the images are completely unforgettable, showing up occasionally in my thoughts, dreams and nightmares.

Top 3:

Such an iconic and beguiling frame. Bergman had such a wonderful eye for subtly surreal images. 

Nykvist's lighting is absolutely perfect in this shot. He manages to have the whole face in darkness except the eye, creating a bizarre and eerie image.

This shot seems so nightmarish to me for some reason. I think it's the combination of the ghostly nightdress and the light shone from the TV.

The rest:

Shots of shadows falling on one side of a face are everywhere in this film.

*shivers*

Reminds me a lot of some shots in Red Desert. Well, the other way round.

This shot is just of Liv Ullmann's face slowly being cast in shadow, but is terrifying for some reason.

Great lighting and composition for what could have been such a simple shot.

I actually didn't notice this in my first few viewings of Persona but this shot is fascinating. It is hard to tell where one body starts and the other ends.

Another very dreamlike shot.

You see this shot associated with the film a lot, but it is usually much brighter. In the film itself, the fact that the shapes are difficult to make out gives the shot an even creepier feel.

I love this 2-shot sequence. The framing is so strange.

Liv Ullmann just has the most expressive face. She can act better than pretty much anyone I've seen without saying anything (she two lines in Persona if I recall correctly).

That's okay, film, I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway.