The fruitful partnership between Bibi Andersson and Ingmar Bergman
Sometimes, an actor and director develop a connection that transcends a typical business partnership, instead finding a kindred cinematic spirit and, in other words, becoming each other’s muses. There have been many great actor-director partnerships over time, with each party inspiring the other to create their best work, from Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina to John Waters and Divine. Often, filmmakers find more than one close collaborator in their lifetime; after all, Divine was part of Waters’ Dreamlanders, a regular cast of actors that appeared in most of his movies.
Swedish director Ingmar Bergman was no exception to the rule. He enjoyed close partnerships with many actors, including Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, the latter of whom is arguably Bergman’s most notable collaborator. Perhaps best known for her role as Elisabet Vogler in Persona, Ullmann gives an outstanding performance as a mute stage actor. However, carrying the film along is Bibi Andersson’s Alma, the nurse employed to care for Elisabet. Andersson starred in ten of Bergman’s feature films and three of his television movies, first collaborating with him in 1951 for a series of soap adverts.
The actor began her dramatic career as a teenager, starring as an extra in several films. She studied acting before joining Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre, receiving her first movie credit in 1953’s Stupid Bom by Nils Poppe. Her first movie collaboration with Bergman was Smiles of a Summer Night in 1955, although this was only a small role. Yet, she secured a much more significant part in 1957’s The Seventh Seal, playing Mia, the wife of Poppe’s Jof. That same year, Andersson appeared in another of Bergman’s most memorable films, Wild Strawberries, where she gives a mesmerising performance as Sara, who reminds the protagonist, Dr Isak Borg, of his first love.
However, Persona remains Andersson’s most affecting performance, delivering most of the film’s dialogue by herself. Bergman’s masterpiece has captivated and confused viewers for decades, inspiring future classics such as David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Robert Altman’s 3 Women due to its exploration of fractured and merging identities. After an experimental opening sequence featuring shocking imagery, such as a nail piercing a hand, we are introduced to Elisabet, who has recently entered a state of unexplained mutism. After a doctor instructs nurse Alma to take care of Elisabet by the sea, the pair develop an odd connection, with Alma using the time to offload her thoughts and anxieties onto her patient.
Whereas Ullmann gives a remarkable silent performance, studying Alma wordlessly and passively, Andersson imbues her character with deep anguish, concealed by a friendly, caring persona. In one standout sequence, Alma confesses her guilt over engaging in an orgy on the beach, resulting in a pregnancy that she had to abort. As Elisabet listens to her nurse, Alma pours her emotions out as if the mute patient will be able to provide any form of reassurance. Andersson’s performance is nothing short of incredible. She continues, and the camera lingers closely on her face as her eyes begin to glint, leading her to get up and turn away from Elisabet’s penetrating gaze.
Persona welcomes many interpretations, although the most common understanding of the film is that both women represent two halves of one. There is a real and idealised self, with Bergman taking inspiration from Carl Jung’s concept of the persona – “a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and on the other to conceal the true nature of the individual,” (proposed in Two Essays on Analytical Psychology). Andersson’s refined performance, complex yet restrained, expressive yet contained, is absolutely stunning. Paired with the cool gaze of Ullmann, the pair propelled Persona to magnum opus levels, taking Bergman’s complex concept and bolstering it to another level of brilliance.
Andersson reunited with Bergman and Ullmann for several more films, including The Passion of Anna and Scenes From A Marriage, although Ullmann ultimately secured the title of Bergman’s most iconic collaborator. Still, Andersson’s work with Bergman was incredibly fruitful and deserves more praise – his masterworks simply wouldn’t look the same without the actor’s precise performances and magnetic presence.
