Persona

Elisabet Vogler is a famous actress. In the middle of a performance of Electra, she falls silent. Even prolonged treatment at a psychiatric clinic fails to make her speak. The doctor in charge suggests to her nurse, Alma, that she should spend some time in isolation on the coast with their patient. Faced by the obstinate yet also sympathetic silence of Elisabet, Alma begins to tell her more than she should. Impressed by the physical resemblance between the two of them, she even identifies herself, subconsciously, with the actress. But the friendship is disturbed when Alma discovers from an unsealed letter to the doctor that the actress is observing her coolly and amusedly. Alma now becomes almost hysterical, trying to project her own feelings of guilt and anguish on to Elisabet, urging her wildly to speak. Back at the clinic, Alma breaks down after a final outburst...