Movies like Persona
If you like "Persona" you are looking for mind twisting, cerebral and surreal movies about / with surrealism, mute character, actress, silence, patient, existentialism and medical themes of Drama and Thriller genre shot in Sweden.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
Persona (1966)
140K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Sweden
Duration: 83 min.
Story:
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. Alma eventually confesses her secrets to a seemingly sympathetic Elisabeth and finds that her own personality is being submerged into Elisabeth's persona.
Style:
mind twisting, cerebral, surreal, black and white, sexual, philosophical, art house, experimental, minimal cast, erotic ...
Plot:
surrealism, mute character, actress, silence, patient, existentialism, medical, nordic, art, dream, alienation, insanity, sex, beach, psychoanalysis, sex talk, repeated scene, symbolism, psychology, obsession, storytelling, nurse, nervous breakdown, confession, trauma ...
Time:
year 1966, 60s, 20th century
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe
Most similar movies to Persona
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out psychological, surreal, thought provoking and cerebral films with plots about existentialism, psychological drama, dream, loneliness, insanity, surrealism and psychology mostly in Drama, Thriller and Mystery genres. Some movies like Persona: The Passion of Anna (1969), Woman in the Dunes (1964), Mulholland Drive (2001), Winter Light (1963), Shame (1968). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Andreas, a man struggling with the recent demise of his marriage and his own emotional isolation, befriends a married couple also in the midst of psychological turmoil. In turn he meets Anna, who is grieving the recent deaths of her husband and son. ...
Style:
art house, cerebral, surreal, psychological, bleak ...
Plot:
nightmare, depression, isolation, self pity, animal cruelty, suicide, guilt, female nudity, psychology, dialogue, insanity, nordic ...
Time:
year 1969, 20th century, 60s
Place:
eastern europe
Similarity:
100%

Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
An entomologist suffers extreme psychological and sexual torture after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village.
Style:
atmospheric, surreal, avant garde, psychological, philosophical ...
Plot:
existentialism, trapped, love affair, metaphor, escape attempt, surrealism, isolation, sun, insect, held captive, desert, male nudity ...
Time:
60s, 20th century
Place:
japan, asia, tokyo
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Style:
surreal, psychological, neo noir, art house, disturbing ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
surrealism, twists and turns, amnesia, lesbian, obsession, dream, alternate reality, parallel universe, hollywood, filmmaking, lesbian sex, nightmare ...
Time:
2000s, year 2001, 20th century, future, 21st century
Place:
los angeles, persia, usa, california, mulholland drive
Similarity:
88%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.
Style:
philosophical, psychological, depressing, art house, cerebral ...
Plot:
religion, existentialism, suicide, priest, winter, faith, midlife crisis, darkness, philosophy, spirituality, great ending, art ...
Time:
year 1963, 20th century, 60s
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
16K
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
Ingmar Bergman's psychological study of how humans react in a situation of war. The film takes place on Gotland, where invasion forces arrives.
Style:
psychological, art house, political, cerebral, biting ...
Plot:
existentialism, dialogue, island, nordic, civil war, betrayal, politics, war, world war two, european, female nudity, political prisoner ...
Time:
year 1968, 60s, 20th century
Place:
eastern europe, scandinavia, tokyo, israel
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
The story of two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Style:
black and white, minimal cast, suspense, gothic horror, mysterious ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
isolation, nightmare, lighthouse keeper, lighthouse, drunkenness, symbolism, hallucination, fight, storm, madness, violence, bird ...
Time:
19th century, 1890s, 90s, year 2019, victorian era ...
Place:
new england, nova scotia, canada
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
Style:
philosophical, cult classic, confusing, art house, surreal ...
Plot:
existentialism, depression, death, writers, theater, twists and turns, schizophrenic, loneliness, philosophy, writer's life, mental illness, actor ...
Time:
year 2008, 90s, 2000s, future, 21st century
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city, berlin germany
Similarity:
100%
144K

Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Poland
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Style:
disturbing, sexy, dark, psychological, bleak ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
insanity, depression, cruelty, guilt, controversy, fear, violence, woods, female nudity, nudity, black magic, male nudity ...
Time:
21st century
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
As Agnes slowly dies of cancer, her sisters are so deeply immersed in their own psychic pains that they can't offer her the support she needs. Maria is wracked with guilt at her husband's suicide, caused by his discovery of her ...
Style:
touching, depressing, cerebral, visually stunning, psychological ...
Plot:
cancer, maid, terminal illness, art, family relations, dying, nordic, women, existentialism, obsession, marriage, dialogue ...
Time:
19th century, turn of the century, 1900s, 90s, year 1972 ...
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
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 bother, Minus, is ...
Style:
psychological, philosophical, art house, black and white, serious ...
Plot:
schizophrenia, mental illness, older sister, religion, insanity, psychology, nordic, existentialism, dysfunctional family, mental disorder, illness, spirituality ...
Time:
year 1961, 20th century, 60s
Place:
eastern europe, scandinavia
Similarity:
100%
882K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
Style:
psychological, cerebral, atmospheric, suspense, twist ending ...
Audience:
chick flick, adult
Plot:
ballet, mental illness, obsession, psychology, character study, dancing, insanity, hallucination, mother daughter relationship, ballerina, surrealism, schizophrenia ...
Time:
year 2010, 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
bolivia, usa, new york, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
80%
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story:
Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.
Style:
mindfuck, suspense, thought provoking, disturbing, psychological ...
Plot:
dementia, suicide, winter, farm, relationships, high school, waitress, blizzard, road trip, elderly couple, estrangement, haunted by the past ...
Time:
2020s, 21st century
Place:
america, oklahoma
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: Sweden
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Traveling through an unnamed European country on the brink of war, sickly, intellectual Ester, her sister Anna and Anna's young son, Johan, check into a near-empty hotel. A basic inability to communicate among the three seems only to worsen ...
Style:
sexual, art house, black and white, disturbing, cerebral ...
Plot:
existentialism, surrealism, nihilism, sister sister relationship, religion, lesbian incest, dysfunctional family, female masturbation, translator, war zone, room, sibling rivalry ...
Time:
year 1963, 20th century, 60s
Place:
europe, tokyo
Similarity:
100%
61K
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
In Roman Polanski's first English-language film, beautiful young manicurist Carole suffers from androphobia (the pathological fear of interaction with men). When her sister and roommate, Helen, leaves their London flat to go on an Italian ...
Style:
atmospheric, disturbing, cerebral, surreal, cult classic ...
Plot:
mental illness, surrealism, rape, insanity, schizophrenia, murder, isolation, delusion, hallucination, fear, nightmare, claustrophobia ...
Time:
20th century, year 1965, 60s
Place:
england, london, europe, britain, eastern europe ...
Similarity:
67%
155K
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 162 min.
Story:
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A Stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep seeded ...
Style:
philosophical, atmospheric, bleak, art house, psychological ...
Audience:
family friendly, adult
Plot:
stalker, post apocalypse, dystopian future, surrealism, psychokinesis, dog, wish come true, trippy, human nature, distopia, escapades, post apocalyptic ...
Time:
future, distant future, year 1979, near future
Place:
soviet union, ussr, russia
Similarity:
100%
20K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
An awkward young teen working at a spa becomes overly attached to her fellow worker, a lonely outcast. They hang out at a bar owned by a strange pregnant artist and her has-been cowboy husband. Amid emotional crises, the three woman steal and trade ...
Style:
surreal, stylized, art house, depressing, visually stunning ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
surrealism, insanity, psychology, suicide attempt, women, feminist, identity, feminism, gender issues, mental disorder, artist, psychotic ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1977
Place:
california, usa, texas
Similarity:
75%
Genre: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 138 min.
Story:
With 8 ½ Frederico Fellini leaves a self-portrait where dreams and reality are a mix. With help from a most excellent cast and unique scenery this self reflecting film is one of his master works.
Style:
psychological, art house, cerebral, philosophical, surreal ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
surrealism, childhood, filmmaking, midlife crisis, loneliness, stream of consciousness, flashback, memory, satire, catholic, dream, actress ...
Time:
20th century, year 1963, 60s, 1930s
Place:
italy, europe, paris france, france, england ...
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Mexico, Italy
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
A young man is confined in a mental hospital. Through a flashback we see that he was traumatized as a child, when he and his family were circus performers: he saw his father cut off the arms of his mother, a religious fanatic and leader of the ...
Style:
psychedelic, surreal, dark, cult classic, atmospheric ...
Plot:
surrealism, circus, serial killer, revenge, clown, psychology, killer clown, extreme, blood, art, magic realism, funeral ...
Time:
80s, year 1989
Place:
mexico city, mexico, latin america
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
439K
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Spain, USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
The Machinist is the story of Trevor Reznik, a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ...
Style:
psychological, twist ending, surprise ending, depressing, surreal ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
insomnia, insanity, uncover truth, obsession, mysterious character, paranoia, losing-it hero, twists and turns, schizophrenia, life is a bitch, secrets, alienation ...
Time:
year 2004, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
usa, america, persia, los angeles
Similarity:
100%
905K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Style:
psychological, surreal, mind bending, atmospheric, philosophical ...
Audience:
teens, date night, adult, teen drama
Plot:
mental illness, imaginary friend, schizophrenia, psychology, time travel, insanity, parallel universe, suburbs, surrealism, time loop, trippy, schizophrenic ...
Time:
80s, year 2001, 2000s, future, 20th century ...
Place:
los angeles, america, usa, virginia, harvard university
Similarity:
60%
207K
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Style:
atmospheric, bleak, psychological, surreal, philosophical ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
depression, wedding, end of the world, apocalypse, sister sister relationship, nihilism, collision, mental health, disaster, female nudity, mental disorder, human nature ...
Time:
2010s, year 2011, future, 21st century
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Spain, France, Italy
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured.
Style:
suspense, psychological, sexy, philosophical, surreal ...
Plot:
disfigurement, dream, surrealism, love triangle, paranoia, nightmare, love, car accident, psychiatrist, erotic scene, memory loss, twists and turns ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
spain, south america, iberian peninsula, europe, madrid
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
Elliot, a successful gynecologist, works at the same practice as his identical twin, Beverly. Elliot is attracted to many of his patients and has affairs with them. When he inevitably loses interest, he will give the woman over to Beverly, the ...
Style:
atmospheric, psychological, sexy, dark, disturbing ...
Plot:
insanity, body horror, drug addiction, obsession, identical twins, losing-it hero, twins, mistaken identity, brother brother relationship, love triangle, addiction, schizophrenia ...
Time:
20th century, year 1954, 1950s, 90s, 80s ...
Place:
toronto ontario canada, canada
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
135K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Style:
surreal, psychological, neo noir, black comedy, cerebral ...
Plot:
twists and turns, dark humor, hollywood, screenwriter, showbiz, murder, neighbor, surrealism, nightmare, serial killer, insanity, filmmaking ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1991, 90s, year 1941
Place:
los angeles, california, usa, new york, new york state
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Netherlands, UK, Japan, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
After developing an addiction to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally murders his wife and becomes involved in a secret government plot being orchestrated by giant bugs in an Islamic port town in Africa.
Style:
surreal, psychedelic, cult classic, philosophical, cerebral ...
Plot:
hallucination, surrealism, exterminator, nightmare, addiction, trippy, repressed homosexual, secret agent, drug addiction, paranoia, reality vs fantasy, homosexuality ...
Time:
1950s, 20th century, year 1953, year 1991, 90s ...
Place:
north africa, usa, new york, canada
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Poland
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
Set in pre- World War II era. A young man is on a strange train to see his dying father in a sanatorium. But the place is going to ruin and recalls a lot of memories from the past. He is beset by soldiers from the past, colonial black mercenaries, ...
Style:
surreal, psychological, psychedelic, dark, cerebral ...
Plot:
surrealism, alternate dimension, alternate reality, metaphysics, nightmare, female nudity, renaissance, magic realism, time travel, macabre, trippy, existentialism ...
Time:
year 1973, 20th century
Place:
poland, eastern europe
Similarity:
100%

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Mexico
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A Mexican master leads a Christ figure and other disciples to a mountain of immortal wise men. The scandal of the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, writer/director Alejandro Jodorowsky's flood of sacrilegious imagery and existential symbolism in The ...
Style:
surreal, psychedelic, avant garde, atmospheric, mind bending ...
Plot:
satire, trippy, alchemist, enlightenment, surrealism, hermaphrodite, sex, spiritual journey, sex scene, absurdism, hippopotamus, lsd ...
Time:
year 1973, 70s, 20th century
Place:
mexico, south america, latin america, peru
Similarity:
100%
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: Sweden
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
An artist in crisis is haunted by nightmares from the past in Ingmar Bergman's only horror film, which takes place on a windy island. During "the hour of the wolf" - between midnight and dawn - he tells his wife about his most painful ...
Style:
gothic, creepy, atmospheric, surreal, black and white ...
Plot:
surrealism, macabre, insanity, nightmare, artist, island, isolation, insomnia, existentialism, obsession, mental illness, homosexual subtext ...
Time:
year 1968, 60s, 20th century
Place:
scandinavia, eastern europe, europe, germany
Similarity:
50%
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Country: Sweden
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A sensitive exploration of the tragic irony of the psychiatrist suffering with mental illness.
Style:
art house, psychedelic, mind bending, surreal, depressing ...
Plot:
mental illness, suicide attempt, childhood trauma, art, nordic, depression, dream, suicide, rape, psychiatrist, psychopath, existentialism ...
Time:
year 1976, 70s
Place:
eastern europe
Similarity:
28%
236K
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, Spain, France
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.
Style:
surreal, psychological, twist ending, mind bending, clever ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
doppelganger, obsession, mental illness, symbolism, paranoia, nightmare, lookalikes, infidelity, disturbed individual, spider, surrealism, boyfriend girlfriend relationship ...
Time:
year 2013, year 2014, 2010s, 21st century
Place:
toronto ontario canada, canada
Similarity:
50%
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