Laura Hubner is one of the first critics to analyse the elements of 'illusion' in key films by Bergman and relate these?to cultural and artistic influences on his creative output, the phenomenon of Bergman as 'art film' director, and debates about modernism, postmodernism and emerging feminist discourses on gender and multiplicity.Acknowledgements Introduction The Mask and Identity: Summer Interlude 's legacy Female Defiance: Dreams of Another World in Summer with Monika and the Early Films Religion, Truth and Symbolism from The Seventh Seal to The Silence Persona : Cinema as Mask Dreams, Fantasies and Nightmare Visions Conclusion: Celebrating the Illusion Notes Bibliography Filmography IndexLAURA HUBNER is a Senior Lecturer in Film and Media Studies at the University of Winchester, UK.