What are the main features of Bergman's cinematic style? How does he make compelling what is basically a two-person drama? Consider his alternation of long shots and closeups, his exploration of different tonalities of black and white, his sparse use of nondiegetic music, the types of performances he elicits from his actresses, and the kind of concentration that is produced by his screenplay. Also, what kind of narrative does this film give us? How is it different from conventional cinematic storytelling?
What do you make of the opening sequence of the film, with its images of a movie projector, of silent film footage, of Christ's Passion (the nail being driven into the hand) and so on? Why do these intrusions of the materiality of the film projector enter into the film at several points (not just the beginning and the end, but also in the middle, after Alma leaves the shard of glass for Elisabeth to step on)? What about the image of the boy looking at (and trying to touch) a woman's projected face, that seems to bracket the main action of the film?
What sort of relationship exists between Elisabeth and Alma? How does this relationship change over the course of the narrative? Who exploits whom, who becomes whom? Why are their faces juxtaposed at one point near the end of the film?
Why does Elisabeth stop speaking? How is her being an actress related to her actions? What do you make of the notion of the "persona" (which originally means a role in a play, but takes on additional meaning as the title of this film)?