A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.
Acting
Andersson's monologue to Ullmann—eight minutes of raw, unraveling genius.
Cinematography
Sven Nykvist's faces become landscapes of psychic erosion.
Editing
That middle sequence—film literally breaks, and so do you.
Director
Ingmar Bergman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bergman wrote the script while hospitalized with pneumonia; he kept dreaming of two women comparing hands and realizing they were the same person.
The film's middle breakdown—projector jam, film melting, random images—was revolutionary. Audiences in 1966 thought the theatre was broken. They weren't wrong.
SE
