Anna (1987) User Reviews

Touches a Nerve

[Matowynn · 7/10 · 20 November 2005]

I found it quite absorbing. I haven't seen it since 1988 or so. I remember Paulina Porizkova was a pretty famous model back then, pre-supermodel days. I was deeply struck by the relationship between the two woman. Youth and middle-age. The incredible losses of not only youth, but of possibility and love are touched on in a way very rarely seen in movies. Especially from a woman's point of view. The mentoring of the younger woman and then the incredible sense of loss when she is whisked away by public reaction to her beauty and then actually takes on the painful past of her mentor, in a way steals it is incredibly moving. You end up feeling for Kirkland's character because she seems to have greater depth than the younger woman, but at the same time is that just the result of age and circumstance? And the poignant relationship to her lost image and the contacts and opportunity that her youthful beauty once promised her. Now she is alone and forgotten in a foreign land. It is pretty incredible.

Sally Kirkland steals the spotlight

[mjneu59 · 6/10 · 3 November 2010]

A once famous Czech actress, fallen on hard times since emigrating to New York City in 1968, finds the strain of maintaining her professional integrity beginning to take its toll after too many humiliating off-Broadway auditions. But unlike its title character the film of the same name is (thankfully) far less neurotic, presenting a fresh mix of otherwise familiar narrative elements. It's part show-biz satire, part fish-out-of-water drama, and in large part a cross cultural variation of 'A Star Is Born', with the melancholy Anna sheltering an impoverished but attractive peasant girl from the Old Country (Paulina Porizkova) whose unexpected (and unsolicited) success begins to eclipse her mentor's own fading career. The relationship is given added resonance in the young protégé's naive ignorance of Prague Spring, giving the domestic show business story a richer European perspective, which no doubt came natural to screenwriter Agnieszka Holland, an accomplished filmmaker herself. But after having created such memorable characters (rewarded in the title role by a performance to match, from unlikely Oscar nominee Sally Kirkland) it's too bad Holland's script then had to settle for such an abrupt and artificial ending.

Kirkland saves this flick from sudden death

[=G= · 6/10 · 6 July 2002]

Once a film star in Czechoslovakia, a middle-aged Anna has to settle for the humiliation of an off-Broadway understudy role only to watch her inexperienced and recently emigrated young protege (Porizkova) find sudden success in Hollywood. There is probably only one reason to watch "Anna", a clumsy slice-of-miserable-life story, and that is Kirkland's wonderful portrayal of her courageously vulnerable character. Likely to have only narrow appeal, "Anna" is a Czech flavored indie worth a look and a must see for Kirkland fans. C+

Anna: the actress who would demand a bigger trailer...

[film-critic · 2/10 · 9 February 2008]

A drama at its very core, "Anna" displays that genuine truth that all actors age, and sometimes, fade away. Anna is a character that believes America is her safety net, her home, and it can do her no wrong – but she refuses to belittle herself to do work she doesn't believe in. She is hard-nosed, optimistic, stubborn, and arrogant when it comes to her life, yet not afraid to let others in, yet drop them at a moments notice. Anna flip-flops between personalities, which makes this film ideal of an aging star, but not idea of the viewing audience. "Anna" has been praised for its star Sally Kirkland, and her ability to get "grungy" for the role, but a month into 2008, "Anna" does not remain a staple of film culture. It is dated, dull, and formulaically chaotic.

Director Yurek Bogayevicz has a message hidden within "Anna" about the falsehoods of Czechoslovakia, both politically and socially, but Kirkland refuses to let them upstage her. Bogayevicz is not afraid to play with the camera, to use wooden frames to allow Kirkland to stand out, and he is not afraid to lessen the surrounding characters so that when you walk away from the film, it is Kirkland you remember. If it isn't obvious, this film didn't sit well with me. From the opening of the first act and deep within the second, "Anna" felt like a high school theater production. The characters were non-existent, there was no enlightening pre-story, and there was no definition of time or place. There was Sally Kirkland, stubbornly saying that she is better than the other actresses vying for the same lifestyle that she wants. Randomly she encounters a friend, a young girl that has also traveled a long distance to get to America for the glitz and glamour, and two of them (within the span of 20 minutes) build a friendship that could break all walls. It is emotionally boring and unbelievable. Again, randomly, we meet Anna's boyfriend Daniel (played by the weak Robert Fields), who brings nothing to the table in terms of definition or character – only to boost the attention onto Kirkland's Anna. Through the course of nearly two hours, we watch as more random acts coupled with unnamed characters intertwine together to feebly create a story that is held together by loose threads – and SALLY KIRKLAND. Arg, it pains me to continue to say this but "Anna" could have been a fantastic film had Bogayevicz presented equal time between Anna, Daniel, and Krystina, but instead we are forced into a one-sided game where emotional scenes speak louder than plot.

Is this where Charlize Theron found inspiration for her beauty-less role in "Monster", or Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball"? Was Sally Kirkland one of the early actresses discover that by letting themselves go for a character Oscar will shine in their direction? Throughout this film I was disgusted by Kirkland's portrayal of Anna, and Bogayevicz's lack of excitement for anything else fluent. Bogayevicz gives us an Anna that doesn't work hard for her parts, doesn't care for others, and is generally mean spirited – yet we are to feel sympathy for her? Near the beginning of the film, she forces what she wants to do onto others, and gets upset when she doesn't get her way. Sure, aging actresses my have that appeal to them, but Kirkland creates a more childish character instead of a mature one. That is where "Anna" could have improved. If this was a mature Kirkland, I would have gobbled it up, but this stammering childish Anna was impossible to believe. While my favorite scene was near the end where Anna goes to watch one of her older films playing (included is absurd make-out characters) and the film burns, this scene is also one of my least favorite. Anna has made a phenomenal life for herself, creating films and building the dream, yet when anyone else wants to enter that spotlight, she gets jealous and outraged. This didn't make for a character I wanted to stand behind nor win Oscars. Coupled with the classic 80s background synthesizer, the outrageous over-the top wardrobe, and the displaced ending (where did that come from and what happened??) – "Anna" slipped far in the scope of amazing cinema. It was a show-piece, an opportunity for an aging star to yell at the world one more time. In this one it worked, but I don't think I will be fooled again.

Overall, I cannot say that I was impressed with this film. "Anna" is not a film about an aging film star; it is about Sally Kirkland, and ONLY Sally Kirkland. Bogayevicz tries to do more with the story, but fails either because Kirkland will not allow him or he just realizes that there isn't enough to support a full story. There are one or two decent scenes in this film, but nothing that promotes this film as innovative or influential. Bogayevicz did not create a character that audiences would believe, tear up for, or dedicate a Sunday afternoon with – he created an annoyance. Kirkland wasn't Anna, she was an actress playing her a bit overdone and crusty on the sides. Perhaps I missed the scope of this film, but what makes films like this work is the cooperation of everyone involved. That wasn't the case here. In "Anna", Kirkland orders Daniel to act like a dog (apparently as a symbolic act) and yet during the entire emotional scene, I couldn't help but think that was what Kirkland was like to those on the set. She didn't make this into a film, she transformed it into her own production, and because of it "Anna" failed. I cannot suggest this to anyone – from one Czech to another – skip it!

Grade: * ½ out of ***** (for that pesky theater scene that creeped me out)

Kirkland was robbed

[jakephall · 10/10 · 22 February 2008]

Sally Kirkland is standout in this character driven drama. This film is what great films are all about, they tell great stories about people and get you thinking.

The script is fantastic and Kirkland is heart breaking. The film should be far better remembered than it is and film schools should use it in class.

Kirkland should have won the Oscar and had the film had better distribution and some more money behind it, she would have, but CHER had a huge campaign behind her for Moonstruck.

Kirkland is under rated and her two best roles since ANNA have failed to get distribution:

What's up Scarlet and Norma Jean, Jack, and Me.

A must see for film fans and those who love actors...

Former foreign film star finds no luck seeking parts in America.

[jcrawford-15 · 9/10 · 23 September 2007]

As an actor who works in film and television, I think Kirkland's performance in "Anna" is one of the greatest ever given by an American actress on screen. Every actor should see it, as well as Kim Stanley's in "The Goddess" and Geraldine Page's in "The Trip to Bountiful".

I also think this film is important in its message to Hollywood - stop putting looks above talent!

This film is a fascinating story, all too true for actresses in the US, especially today. Anna, an enormously talented middle-aged woman, is overlooked, while exceptional opportunities come along for a pretty young girl with little to offer but looks and a perky personality, who just happens to use Anna to get to the top.

The story is supposed to be based on a real person and her experience trying to find work in New York after having been a star in Europe. Kirkland brings this character to life with amazing depth and courage. Although she lost the Oscar that year to the well - deserving Cher for "Moonstruck", I think if more people had seen this film, Kirkland would have walked away with the little gold man that night. I am still inspired by what the film has to say about women in this business who lose opportunities because of ageism. What is it with American producers? I love Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave, but if they were American women, they would never find work! The Hollywood film industry should take a lesson from their European counterparts and use the talented older ladies we have right here!!! Every time Dench or Redgrave make a film, they are nominated or win for it. There are thousands of equally gifted ladies right under our noses in Hollywood who never get a shot at greatness. Sadly, Sally Kirkland just had the one...

Kirkland's performance is a lost gem!

[MLaug22477 · 8/10 · 25 August 2002]

ANNA is a very uneven film BUT Sally Kirkland's performance is not. Shame that more people didnt see if they did she might have gotten an Academy Award. Fortunately she was nominated.

gives you a reason to appreciate independent films, storyline and acting not specialeffx

[drainbaby · 5 October 2000]

what makes this film worth watching, other than the unrecognized talent of sally kirkland, is the authentic feel of lower new york and the off broadway scene. the ending is not what i expected and i appreciate the fact that someone knows how to write an ending that makes you think about what you just saw and feel somehting for the characters that you have to think about before you decide exactly what you felt. i saw this film several years after its release and i think if i could vote the oscars now i would vote it in lead actress, screenplay and cinemotagraphy. an excellent film proving creativity not money is what makes something worth watching on screen. 3 and 1/2 stars. timelessly moving

Anna gave worthy actress Sally Kirkland her only Oscar-nominated role

[tavm · 9/10 · 25 January 2008]

Unable to sleep late at night, I got one of my brother's old VHS tapes and played something called Anna. This 20-year old movie made by European artists in America for the independent film company Vestron Pictures starred Sally Kirkland in the Oscar-nominated title role as a former Czech movie actress who's now struggling off-Broadway as an understudy for seven roles in an art-house play. Robert Fields plays her writer boyfriend Daniel, Steven Gilborn-who I remember as Kevin Arnold's math teacher in "The Wonder Years"-her ex-husband Tonda, and supermodel Paulina Porizkova is Krystyna-Anna's protégé. When I read the end credits, at the last name on the cast list was Francis' daughter Sofia Coppola as Noodle though I don't remember her or the character. Anyway, this movie began amusingly enough with Anna suffering an audition reciting a nursery rhyme while standing on one leg and shouting but as the film went on we feel for her as she suffers a breakdown after Krystyna steals Anna's life story for her own as she-with Anna's help-rises in stardom. Kirkland deserved her only Academy Award nomination that I felt was even better than the one who actually won in the Best Actress category that year: Cher in Moonstruck. Porizkova was also pretty good for her ingénue role as we see her and Kirkland initially bond. Since Vestron no longer exists, this movie may be difficult to find now but Anna is definitely worth a look.

Terrific performance by Kirkland

[RonM626 · 8/10 · 10 September 2005]

This film is all about Kirkland's performance, which is still one of the best performances I've ever seen on film. She was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Geraldine Page for The Trip to Bountiful in one of those sympathy votes going to the lesser performance things (Page had been nominated without winning something like eight times prior, so a lot of people in the Academy probably thought it was time to give her something). Porizkova does pretty well for her debut performance, but then again she was pretty much playing herself as an eastern European beauty who is discovered and becomes a model.

But I'm writing this review solely to give Kirkland the praise she deserves for her terrific performance.

Compelling portrait of Czech emigre theater people in New York, and the trickiness of memory.

[tasgal · 10/10 · 7 May 2002]

"Anna" is the movie with perhaps the greatest disparity between my opinion and everyone else's, so seems appropriate for my first comment on IMDb.

Anna (Sally Kirkland) was a legendary actress in Czechoslovakia, and in New York suffers a career in shabby productions with avant garde or artistic pretensions. Krystyna (Paulina Porizkova), an immigrant from Czechoslovakia with acting aspirations, spends her first days on the streets of New York searching for Anna, fainting from hunger virtually on her doorstep. Anna takes her in, and they become intimate friends.

Porizkova's Krystyna is as compellingly ambitious and wily as any of Werner Herzog's roles -- and this in an area calling for a subtler social sense. Krystyna seems not to be Anna's daughter, given up for adoption at a young age. But the malleability of memory -- Krystyna's in an obvious way, though perhaps also Anna's -- is treated more interestingly than in some of Agnieszka Holland's better known movies, such as "Olivier, Olivier" or "Europa, Europa." Almost as interesting as some real life cases: The erstwhile mental illness "fugue" comes to mind (see, for example, the Times Literary Supplement, 16 July 1999; as this is a movie database, I'll also point to "Paris, Texas" for a portrayal of the phenomenon). So does the case of Benjamin Wilkomirski. I could but won't extend this list.

On the negative side, the description of Jewish life in New York is a mixture of inappropriately projected Christian norms and condescension (maybe due to unfamiliarity, or laziness of imagination).