--- title: "Persona: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/persona/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/persona" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Persona (1966): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 12 reviews: 12 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. Nobody has a bad word for it. Twelve reviews, all positive, and the praise gathers on the same spot: the images. Critics return to the high-contrast photography, the compositions that lay one woman’s face over the other’s, and Bergman’s willingness to tear at the surface of his own film. Most call it one of his best. Bibi Andersson’s performance as the nurse draws particular notice, and more than one reviewer finds the film warmer and more intimate than its formal games suggest. The reservations are about difficulty, not quality. Variety finds it hard going even while admiring the technique, and the Los Angeles Times suggests the tricks that once shocked have lost some of their force. Sight and Sound spends part of its notice defending the film against the charge of self-indulgence, which tells you the charge is still made. The spread is narrow, and the lowest scores come from retrospective pieces that describe the film’s influence more than they judge it. ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 5/5/5. 2 January 2018. Jenkins considers Persona one of Bergman’s greatest films and an enduring cinematic achievement. He praises its striking high-contrast cinematography and surreal experimentation, which make its mysteries compelling rather than alienating. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/persona-1966) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Rating 4.5/5. 21 March 2014. Bowen finds the film vital, mysterious, and emotionally intimate despite its elaborate formal games. He particularly praises the Criterion transfer’s clarity and detail, especially in the close-ups. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/persona/) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating A-. 9 April 2014. D’Angelo regards Persona as a radical, visceral achievement that remains influential and rewarding. He especially praises Bergman’s visionary images of the two women’s faces and the film’s bold visual experimentation. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/ingmar-bergman-s-radical-influential-persona-finally-c-1798180100) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2017. Bradshaw finds the film uniquely enigmatic, fascinating and still captivating. He particularly praises the haunting visual compositions that merge the two women’s faces to explore identity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/29/persona-review-ingmar-bergman-rerelease) ## Time Out — TM Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The review describes Bergman’s film as brilliant. It singles out the symbiotic relationship between an actress in crisis and the nurse who cares for her. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/persona) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Parkinson calls the film wonderfully complex, warmly human, and one of Bergman’s very best. He singles out its technically audacious play with cinematic artifice and its ambiguity about the characters’ identities. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/persona-review/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2010. Brody presents the film as a profound artistic breakthrough that tests cinema’s limits. He especially praises its blend of theatrical subjectivity with tactile visual intimacy. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dvd-of-the-week-persona) ## Los Angeles Times — Andy Klein Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 March 2014. Klein regards the film as fascinating and brilliant, though its once-shocking techniques have lost some impact. He praises Criterion’s crisp presentation and especially its many fascinating extras. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/entertainment/andy-klein/tn-gnp-dvd-review-persona-extras-double-the-fun-20140328-story.html) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1966. Variety praises the film as masterful in conception and technique, though difficult. It singles out Bibi Andersson’s performance and the film’s direction, acting, editing, and cinematography for praise. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1965/film/reviews/persona-1200421050/) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 79/100 (inferred from the text). The page is identified as a Great Movies review of Persona. The browser block prevents verifying the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-persona-1966) ## Film Comment — Mark Harris Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The retrospective presents Bergman’s film as a meditation on being and nothingness that helped restore his standing among American cinephiles. The available text singles out the film’s lasting impact, but offers no further critical detail. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/cinema-67-revisited-persona/) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2018. The critic presents Persona as a difficult but richly layered film, resisting dismissals of it as self-indulgent. They single out its formal use of doubling to explore the masks people wear and the limits of communication and art. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/persona-archive-review-where-mask-meets-face) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/persona.md