The highlight of Andersson's monologue is a story she hasn't even told her fiance, one involving a female friend, a nude beach, and two very curious teenage boys. It is a charged, erotic scene we are never shown, but Andersson is so vivid in the telling of it, that you'd swear it was done in flashback. The entire infidelity occurs while her fiance is at town for the day, yet she does not hesitate to cheat. And the film being a Bergman film, we don't spend time questioning the moral implications of her act, for it is enough that the act was committed in the first place. Liv Ullmann, her audience, does not judge, does not react violently, she does not even seem mildly surprised. She just takes it all in, silently smoking and listening, a perfect sounding board.[2]

But why? Is Ullmann studying her, preparing for her next role? Or is the entire thing a dream, and if so, who's? It's possible that the two women are actually two halves of the same person, hence the split-screen final shot. The way Ullmann plays the character, she gives the impression that she knows, but isn't telling. As does Bergman in his camera choices, which are all very clean, composed, and beautifully lit by legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist. But part of the appeal of Persona is that neither the film, nor the filmmakers, seem inclined to tell you what's going on, and that open-ended question mark adds more power than a hundred answers. Everything seems likely, even the extremely unlikely, and by keeping us guessing, Bergman keeps us watching, time and time again.

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[1] And I love Bergman, but the images sort of creep me out.

[2] One thing the film doesn't really get into is the fact that a perfectly silent person can get more information out of someone than a person asking questions. This is probably how Andersson opens up to Ullmann.

Starring: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, and Gunnar Björnstrand
Written and directed by: Ingmar Bergman
NR, 83 min, 1966, Sweden