The Passion of Anna
Encyclopedia
The Passion of Anna (commonly referred to as The Passion) is a 1969 Swedish
drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman
. Bergman was awarded Best Director at the 1971 National Society of Film Critics
Awards for the film.
Andreas is friends with a married couple, Eva and Elis (mutual friends of Anna) who are also in the midst of psychological turmoil. Elis is a photographer who organizes his work based on emotion. Eva feels Elis has grown tired of her and has problems sleeping. One night while Elis is away, Eva visits Andreas, as she is bored and lonely. They listen to music and drink wine, which makes them drowsy, and finally Eva sleeps for several hours. When she wakes up, they have sex. Afterward, she explains that during her only pregnancy years ago, she went to the hospital to treat her insomnia. The medicine they gave her helped her condition but killed the child. She conveys that it allowed her and Elis to share a moment of emotional affinity.
Andreas visits Elis whom he promised could photograph him. Elis leaves the room for a moment and Eva enters. In their conversation, Eva reveals that Anna has moved in with Andreas, and though she is not displeased (as she likes both of them), she warns him to be wary of Anna. Elis enters the room; when Eva asks him why he looks angry, he says he only gets angry at human trifles (alluding to the affair).
Their relationship is not passionate but Andreas and Anna start off relatively content. Anna appears zealous in her faith and steadfast in her search for truth, but gradually her delusions surface-reinforced by what Andreas read in the letter. For his part, Andreas is unable to overcome his feelings of deep humiliation about himself and remains disconnected, further dooming the relationship with Anna, as he prefers solitude and freedom to companionship. Throughout the film, an unknown person among the island community commits acts of animal cruelty, hanging a dog and violently killing cattle. A friend of Andreas is wrongly accused of these crimes, leading the community to threaten and beat him, catalyzing his suicide. Within a few days of the friend's death, Anna and Andreas have a physical fight during which they reveals their strong distaste for each other. Afterwards Anna lays in bed while Andreas follows two firetrucks that passed his home. They were headed to a large barn fire. When Andreas arrives, he is told that the unknown man who is the true culprit of the animal cruelty covered a barn full of animals in gasoline and lit it on fire, locking the animals in. It is obvious to the community that Andreas' friend was unjustly abused and committed suicide because of flimsy human suspicion, therefore, chances for healing are lost.
Anna shows up at the fire in her car. Andreas gets in. As they drive down the road beside the sea, Andreas explains that he desires his solitude again and that their parting will not be difficult as neither one truly loved the other. He also reveals that he knows the truth about her husband. Anna begins to speed the car while he talks. He asks if she is going to kill him like she killed her husband and they fight over the wheel, eventually he stops the car in the flat ground beside the road. He tells her she is out of her mind. Anna drives away while Andreas paces back and forth on the side of the road.
Bergman uses his deconstructionist devices, cutting occasionally to his actors being interviewed about their characters, scratched lenses, and uncorrected muted colour, and inserts others' footage into reels. There is a black and white filmed dream sequence (that alludes to his earlier film, Shame) to contrast with Nykvist's muted colour photography.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
. Bergman was awarded Best Director at the 1971 National Society of Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
Awards for the film.
Plot
The audience is introduced to Andreas Winkelman, a man living alone and emotionally desolate after the recent demise of his marriage. He meets Anna, who is grieving the recent deaths of her husband and son. She uses a cane as a result of the car crash that killed them. While Anna uses Andreas' phone, he listens to her conversation, after which she departs visibly distraught. Anna has left her handbag behind and Andreas searches it, finding and reading a letter from her husband that will later prove she is deceptive.Andreas is friends with a married couple, Eva and Elis (mutual friends of Anna) who are also in the midst of psychological turmoil. Elis is a photographer who organizes his work based on emotion. Eva feels Elis has grown tired of her and has problems sleeping. One night while Elis is away, Eva visits Andreas, as she is bored and lonely. They listen to music and drink wine, which makes them drowsy, and finally Eva sleeps for several hours. When she wakes up, they have sex. Afterward, she explains that during her only pregnancy years ago, she went to the hospital to treat her insomnia. The medicine they gave her helped her condition but killed the child. She conveys that it allowed her and Elis to share a moment of emotional affinity.
Andreas visits Elis whom he promised could photograph him. Elis leaves the room for a moment and Eva enters. In their conversation, Eva reveals that Anna has moved in with Andreas, and though she is not displeased (as she likes both of them), she warns him to be wary of Anna. Elis enters the room; when Eva asks him why he looks angry, he says he only gets angry at human trifles (alluding to the affair).
Their relationship is not passionate but Andreas and Anna start off relatively content. Anna appears zealous in her faith and steadfast in her search for truth, but gradually her delusions surface-reinforced by what Andreas read in the letter. For his part, Andreas is unable to overcome his feelings of deep humiliation about himself and remains disconnected, further dooming the relationship with Anna, as he prefers solitude and freedom to companionship. Throughout the film, an unknown person among the island community commits acts of animal cruelty, hanging a dog and violently killing cattle. A friend of Andreas is wrongly accused of these crimes, leading the community to threaten and beat him, catalyzing his suicide. Within a few days of the friend's death, Anna and Andreas have a physical fight during which they reveals their strong distaste for each other. Afterwards Anna lays in bed while Andreas follows two firetrucks that passed his home. They were headed to a large barn fire. When Andreas arrives, he is told that the unknown man who is the true culprit of the animal cruelty covered a barn full of animals in gasoline and lit it on fire, locking the animals in. It is obvious to the community that Andreas' friend was unjustly abused and committed suicide because of flimsy human suspicion, therefore, chances for healing are lost.
Anna shows up at the fire in her car. Andreas gets in. As they drive down the road beside the sea, Andreas explains that he desires his solitude again and that their parting will not be difficult as neither one truly loved the other. He also reveals that he knows the truth about her husband. Anna begins to speed the car while he talks. He asks if she is going to kill him like she killed her husband and they fight over the wheel, eventually he stops the car in the flat ground beside the road. He tells her she is out of her mind. Anna drives away while Andreas paces back and forth on the side of the road.
Bergman uses his deconstructionist devices, cutting occasionally to his actors being interviewed about their characters, scratched lenses, and uncorrected muted colour, and inserts others' footage into reels. There is a black and white filmed dream sequence (that alludes to his earlier film, Shame) to contrast with Nykvist's muted colour photography.
Cast (in credits order)
- Max von SydowMax von SydowMax von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
– Andreas Winkelman - Liv UllmannLiv UllmannLiv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director, as well as one of the "muses" of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman...
– Anna Fromm - Bibi AnderssonBibi AnderssonBibi Andersson is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin , a social worker, and Josef Andersson, a businessman...
– Eva Vergerus - Erland JosephsonErland JosephsonErland Josephson is a Swedish actor and author. He is best known to international audiences for his work in films directed by Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Theodoros Angelopoulos.-Biography:...
– Elis Vergerus - Erik Hell – Johan Andersson
- Sigge FürstSigge FürstSigge Fürst was a Swedish film actor who appeared in over 130 films. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden and died there of lung cancer in 1984....
– Verner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically
- Britta BruniusBritta BruniusBritta Brunius was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 31 films between 1935 and 1969.-External links:...
– Woman in dream - Lars-Owe Carlberg – Police officer
- Malin EkMalin EkMalin Ek is a Swedish stage and film actress. She won the Eugene O'Neill Award in 2010. She is the daughter of actor Anders Ek and choreographer Birgit Cullberg.-References:* , Dramaten...
– Woman in dream - Barbro Hiort af OrnäsBarbro Hiort af OrnäsBarbro Hiort af Ornäs is a Swedish actress. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. Along with Bibi Andersson, Eva Dahlbeck, and Ingrid Thulin, she won the Best Actress Award at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival for the film Brink of Life....
– Woman in dream - Svea HolstSvea HolstSvea Holst was a Swedish film actress. She appeared in 58 films between 1923 and 1987.-Selected filmography:* Crisis * A Ship to India * Music in Darkness * The Passion of Anna...
– Verner's wife - Marianne Karlbeck – Woman in dream
- Annika Kronberg – Katarina
- Brita Öberg – Woman in dream
- Brian Wikström – Police officer
- Ingmar BergmanIngmar BergmanErnst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
– Narrator (voice) (uncredited) - Hjördis PettersonHjördis PettersonHjördis Olga Maria Petterson was a Swedish actress. She appeared in over 140 films. She was born in Visby, Sweden and died in Stockholm.-Selected filmography:* Resan bort * It Rains on Our Love...
– Johan's sister (uncredited)