The Passion of Anna

Movie Information

In Brief: World Cinema is revisiting this frequently overlooked Ingmar Bergman film. The U.S. title, The Passion of Anna, of The Passion (1969) is misleading, since it’s difficult to conclude that the film is really about Anna’s (Liv Ullmann) passion. Perhaps the American distributor simply thought it sounded sexier. In any case, the film is one of Bergman’s more flawed works. Of course, flawed Bergman is apt to be a lot more worthwhile than the best of many lesser filmmakers. That’s the case here — and for that matter, even some of Bergman’s flaws are not uninteresting. It's never likely to be at the top of anyone's list of Bergman movies, but it's certainly worthwhile.
Score:

Genre: Drama
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson
Rated: R

passion

 

The single greatest drawback to The Passion isn’t — as is often claimed — Bergman’s insistence on breaking up the drama by inserting interviews with the four main actors (though the device only partly works). Rather it’s the film’s strange narrative jump from Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow) having an affair with Eva Vergerus (Bibi Andersson) to living with Anna Fromm (Liv Ullmann). It just happens, leaving the film feeling like there’s a chunk missing. Knowing Bergman’s work, this is probably deliberate, and it does tie in to the fact that The Passion is an often inconclusive work—even to the extent that it contains an unresolved mystery element involving an apparent psycho who tortures and kills animals. The problem is that the jump doesn’t work.

 

the-passion-of-anna

 

However, the film’s examination of the closed-off relationships of the principals — and especially Anna’s obsession to create a harmonious past for herself that never existed — finds Bergman at the top of his game. His depiction of his characters living in their personally created hells where interaction is never more than surface deep is very fine, and the final image of Andreas caught in a tightening grip of indecision about going forward or backward until he ultimately goes nowhere is as good as anything Bergman ever did. Flawed, but still brilliant, The Passion is an essential.

 

Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present The Passion of Anna Friday, July 3 at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District (upstairs in the Railroad Library).  Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com

SHARE
About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.