A – Z Challenge | Director series | I

Ingmar Bergman is a Swedish filmmaker and is considered as one of greatest filmmaker ever. He is very well known for the taking up the themes of faith, mortality and loneliness. One unique quality of all his films is emphasising on the emotions. He gives more importance to the emotions and ensures that the audiences feels the emotions of the characters in the movie. In an interview with Playboy in 1964, he said: “The manifestation of sex is very important, and particularly to me, for above all, I don’t want to make merely intellectual films. I want audiences to feel, to sense my films. This to me is much more important than their understanding them.”

The movie to be spotlighted is undoubtedly Persona. Persona is a Psychological drama released in 1966. The movie says the story of a stage actress Elisabet Vogler, who falls silent all of a sudden. It is determined that it was not because of any illness but her determination and hence she is sent to a cottage near sea shore along with a nurse named Alma to take care of her. What happens during their interaction forms the story. This is one of the best ever movie made on the theme of identity.

Other great works of the director to check out are Fanny and Alexander, Through the glass darkly, The seventh seal, Wild strawberries, Winter Light and Cries and whispers.