Anna
Feb 02, 2008
Jörn Donner, Finland, 1970, 35 mm, 82 min
Sponsored by the Finlandia Foundation, UW Department of Scandinavian Studies, American Scandinavian Foundation
Anna (Harriet Andersson) is a forty year-old anesthesiologist who takes a vacation with her teenage daughter (Maarit Hyttinen) and their maid (Pertti Melasniemi). She turns down her lover's request to marry because she believes the union will not maintain their status as equals. Next door to the trio live a boozy ex-politician (Papani Perttu) and his teenage son (Tapio Rautavaara). The maid and the neighbor boy engage in a passionate affair while Anna reflects on her middle age and examines her changing values in regards to life, love and career. Donner evokes the cool moodiness of Antonioni, using the Finnish countryside to evoke the sombre interior mood of ANNA. The feelings stirred by this film will stay with you long after you've left the theatre.