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Movies that feel like Persona (1966)

If you loved Persona, the closest films we have are Wild Strawberries (1957), The Seventh Seal (1957) and Tokyo Story (1953). All three share Persona's contemplative and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 91% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ingmar Bergmancontemplativedreamlike
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If Persona hit the spot, these will too

Wild Strawberries poster
Wild Strawberries
1957 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.1drama

Ingmar Bergman directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

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The Seventh Seal poster
The Seventh Seal
1957 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 93%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama

Ingmar Bergman working the same nerve twice

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Persona does

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

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Tokyo Story poster
Tokyo Story
1953 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1drama

Common ground: dreams

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

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Through a Glass Darkly poster
Through a Glass Darkly
1961 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The difference: None of the dream logic Persona is built on

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

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Cries and Whispers poster
Cries and Whispers
1972 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.9drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so immersed in their own psychic pains that they are unable to offer her the support she needs.

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Hour of the Wolf poster
Hour of the Wolf
1968 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.5drama Β· horror

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

While vacationing on a remote German island with his younger pregnant wife, an artist has an emotional breakdown while confronting his repressed desires.

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Ivan's Childhood poster
Ivan's Childhood
1962 Β· dir. Andrei Tarkovsky
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8drama Β· war

Both are built on the same subject: dreams

In WW2, twelve year old Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev works for the Soviet army as a scout behind the German lines and strikes a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers.

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Minari poster
Minari
2021 Β· dir. Lee Isaac Chung
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4drama

Dreamlike drama in both cases

The difference: 55 years apart, and the 2020s show

A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of this new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

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The Passion of Anna poster
The Passion of Anna
1969 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6drama

The shared currency is dream logic

A recently divorced man and an emotionally devastated widow begin a love affair.

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The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
2013 Β· dir. Isao Takahata
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8animation Β· drama Β· fantasy

A streak of stillness through both

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

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Fanny and Alexander poster
Fanny and Alexander
1982 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8.1fantasy Β· drama Β· mystery

Both run dreamlike where it counts

As children in the loving Ekdahl family, Fanny and Alexander enjoy a happy life with their parents, who run a theater company. After their father dies unexpectedly, however, the siblings end up in a joyless home when their mother, Emilie, marries a stern bishop. The bleak situation gradually grows worse as the bishop becomes more controlling, but dedicated relatives make a valiant attempt to aid Emilie, Fanny and Alexander.

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Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives poster
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
2010 Β· dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.7drama Β· fantasy

The drama is handled with the same confidence

Suffering from acute kidney failure, Boonmee has chosen to spend his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the countryside. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long lost son returns home in a non-human form. Contemplating the reasons for his illness, Boonmee treks through the jungle with his family to a mysterious hilltop caveβ€”the birthplace of his first life.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Persona’s defining feeling.