A Review of Passion of Anna (1969)
An Experimental Masterpiece by Swedish Auteur Ingmar Bergman
Aug 4, 2008
The third installment of his Faro Island Trilogy, Passion of Anna is another Bergman masterpiece. As always, the acting is excellent, the cinematography impeccable and the themes resilient.
The film opens on Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow) repairing a roof. Several minutes pass in solitude as von Sydow puts up his tools and watches a herd of sheep pass by. This sets the pace for the rest of the film- reflexive and meditative.
Isolation and Relationships on Bergman's Faro
Once Andreas’ isolation is fully established it is immediately broken. Anna Fromm (Liv Ullmann), a friend of his neighbor’s comes by to use his phone: hers is broken. Contact has been made and Andreas becomes friends with his neighbors.
After a short affair with his neighbor’s wife, he and Anna begin seeing each other. They move in together eventually but both are still fixated on the partners who recently left them- Anna on her dead husband and Andreas on his ex-wife.
Interviews with the Cast
Passion of Anna is peppered with interviews from the lead actors, about their characters. Two of the interviews- the ones with Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann- were improvised, while the other two- with Max von Sydow and Erland Josephson- were scripted.
Though the necessity of scripting the male leads’ interviews led Bergman to later dismiss the device as a failure, it remains at worst a valuable failed experiment, and at best an intriguing assertion about the characters.
Other Experimentatal Film Techniques
Often, the film would depart from the norm. In several scenes the background sound drops out completely, intensifying the emotional weight of the actor’s lines. Once even the imagery of the background drop out, turning von Sydow and Ullmann into floating faces in blackness.
There were also a few flashbacks in the movie. There is an extended flashback of Andreas and his ex-wife inserted into the middle of a scene between Andreas and Anna. Several times, too, while Anna is speaking the movie will cut to a letter to Anna from her husband that Andreas read that contradicts what she is saying.
Most of the experimentation is directed at illustrating Andreas’ withdrawal from the world. When he is not living in the past he is poring over the present like a book. He can’t relate to people freely as part of a group or relationship because his mind has grown used to functioning in isolation.
Passion of Anna is Representative Bergman
Passion of Anna is another masterwork from a master artisan. It is a solid movie that will be enjoyed by Bergman fans and anyone who enjoys world cinema. The slow pace may present a stumbling block to some, but there is so much in the film to fill the viewer’s mind that the pace is gracious- a chance to soak it all in.
