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The Passion of Anna – 1969 Bergman
- It’s his second color effort—his first since 1964’s critically panned satire all these women.
- Very complex characters- particularly Von Sydow and Ullmann—a lonely man with a habit of lying and a spirited woman possessed with the truth (quite a pair) and haunted by a tragic past
- Small glimpse of possibilities of color with a stain glass window refracted on bare wall
- 4th wall breaking interludes—you see an interviewer asking von sydow (by name) for insights into his character as you do with all 4 actors—von sydow’s “trying to express his lack of his expression” is wonderful
- You have the bergman face-framing shot of max and Josephson drinking
- Artificial lighting of sunset—magic hour
- Omniscient narrator makes it feel like a doc at times
- The best use of color (stain glass window and fake magic hour are nice) is ullmann’s blue eyes—it’s peculiar that she’s not in the first half of the movie
- this film isn’t the ceiling-shattering use of color experiment cries and whispers would be in 1972
- Ullmann’s one-take close-up monologue is devastating
- A study of human suffering and isolation- unlike most auteurs of his stature bergman’s settings are often on an island on the water – not a city like most auteurs
- 4 actor chamber drama—4 of his pros, bibi andersson and josephson
- Metaphor for human suffering with the slaughtering of animals
- Some stylistically bold choices but it doesn’t always even out
- Black and white dream/flashback
- Highly Recommend
Drake2023-04-26T17:06:53+00:00
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I somehow feel that the Passion of Anna is a little underrated. It doesn’t reach the heights of other Bergman films, that is certain. But I’ve made this comparison before, and I think that when looking at Through a Glass Darkly that gets a lot of attention from most people as a landmark Bergman film, the Passion of Anna should be seen more. I found it to be significantly better. I think it is flawed to an extent and I by and large agree with the R/HR rating, but there are a couple of reasons that I support this one:
First one is the backstory. I think that it is one of the best uses of Fårö as a setting for a Bergman story and we get to see much of the island, in an effective way, since he uses it to convey isolation and abandonment. The animal slaughtering practice becomes something of a character in the film, and it creates an ominous atmosphere that when combined with the island setting becomes a great canvas for all of those characters’ complexes and the troubles of their psyche to unfold. At some points the narrative indeed falls a little short, particularly when compared with some of his masterpieces. The dream/flashback sequence (I can’t remember what it was) and how it’s presented in black and white had me recalling Shame.
The other aspect I’d like to highlight is the acting and how wonderfully complex the characters are. I haven’t seen the film in a while, so unfortunately I can’t talk about the characters’ issues (there are a lot, I’m sure) but I can distinctly remember the characterisation being razor sharp (isn’t it always?). High philosophical discussion on human suffering and incredibly deep characters. I think this is the most psychographic Bergman film I’ve seen and I think that says a LOT. He is like a surgeon cutting through the human soul here. Persona is a weirder mix of psychological and social observations (not to take away from anything of course – I too think it’s his best film), Cries and Whispers is a little easier to grasp, so I think only Scenes from a Marriage can match this, and this one isn’t as dark as the Passion of Anna. I was very intrigued on that front. Josephson builds great support, but I don’t think he gets a whole lot to do. Bibi Andersson is magnificent in her key scenes, very real. And then there’s Von Sydow and Ullmann, who are simply sublime. Her monologue is devastating indeed, but I remember thinking that their dialogue on human suffering and disconnection and the meaninglessness of it all being one of the best and most perfect pieces of acting I had ever seen on film.
Anyway, those are my two cents on why I find the Passion of Anna slightly underrated.
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