jlent,
I agree. I am a big fan of Bergman, and love several of his films. Persona of course has its own difficulties for the viewer, and is in some ways a virtually experimental film. Yet it does not receive the negative assessments Anna does, and certainly not the lack of attention.
Admirers of Anna such as myself acknowledge the "issues" with the interviews with the actors, and while they do not bother me, I can see how others might wonder at their inclusion. But even so that should not make the viewing of the film a ruined experience, or anything of the sort. But it is not only that, of course. I think it is also difficult to admire the characters, but at the same time we can relate to parts of each of them. I frankly think that is part of what makes Anna a difficult film at least for some. The distinguishing between that which we relate to in each of the characters, at the same time we recognize in each a lacking or even a dysfunction.
But then, who among us has no lacking?
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geoffrey-jackson
12 years ago
Well, to be honest, like mk-etc in the OP, I was a little underwhelmed with Anna. The interviews didn't make the film any worse. It already sucked. The acting seemed like rehearsal takes. The thread of the story was OK I suppose, perhaps a little weird in the end, but the whole film was just a bit too avant-garde for my liking. Maybe I couldn't appreciate the film because of the Swedish culture. I don't know.
I did wonder though if the two Andreas were one and the same person. The one played by Max von Sydow was the dead Andreas somewhere in purgatory. There were some Hellish scenes and the film ended with him banging on opposite sides of the screen ad infinitum.
None the less, just after watching Anna I watched Scenes from a Marriage and found that film a lot better. The acting was better for starters, the story was more cohesive and there were no non sequitur interviews.
For the record, I rated Anna 5/10.
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kenny-164
12 years ago
The acting was bad????
Here you have in one Bergman film his strongest four actors (as much as I lke and admire others who appeared in his films, but these four are the tops). And you have Bergman himself, of course. His first full length color film. Why all of a sudden should it be that the acting is bad?
Ftr I find the acting to be uniformly great in Anna. Perhaps the best is Bibi Andersson, but they are all great.
The story has metaphorical elements, and the notion of violence, first against animals, later against Johan, in the confines of the island adds a claustrophobic element. But the film has aspects of true genius and insight. Take the scene were Elis describes to Andreas his own "awareness" of the limitations of photography in asertaining the interiority of the human subjects. The analogy to film, and the concerns present here as in Persona and other Bergman films, is evident and telling.
Perhaps what i most enjoyed about Anna is the way Andreas's ambivalent feelings about being with others in the Heidegerrian sense are shown. I suppose if someone does not understand how brilliantly this film explores those feelings and is comfortable with the potentially unpleasant thoughts that exploration can dig up will not like the film.
I thought it was great.
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