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The Passion of Anna

Original title: En passion
  • 1969
  • R
  • 1h 41m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
11K
YOUR RATING
The Passion of Anna (1969)
A recently divorced man meets an emotionally devastated widow and they begin a love affair.
Play trailer1:48
1 Video
70 Photos
SwedishDrama

A recently divorced man meets an emotionally devastated widow and they begin a love affair.A recently divorced man meets an emotionally devastated widow and they begin a love affair.A recently divorced man meets an emotionally devastated widow and they begin a love affair.

  • Director
    • Ingmar Bergman
  • Writer
    • Ingmar Bergman
  • Stars
    • Liv Ullmann
    • Bibi Andersson
    • Max von Sydow
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    11K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Writer
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Stars
      • Liv Ullmann
      • Bibi Andersson
      • Max von Sydow
    • 58User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:48
    Trailer

    Photos70

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    Top Cast18

    Edit
    Liv Ullmann
    Liv Ullmann
    • Anna Fromm…
    Bibi Andersson
    Bibi Andersson
    • Eva Vergérus…
    Max von Sydow
    Max von Sydow
    • Andreas Winkelman…
    Erland Josephson
    Erland Josephson
    • Elis Vergérus…
    Erik Hell
    Erik Hell
    • Johan Andersson
    Sigge Fürst
    Sigge Fürst
    • Verner
    m. fl.
    Ingmar Bergman
    Ingmar Bergman
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Britta Brunius
    Britta Brunius
    • Woman in Dream
    • (uncredited)
    Lars-Owe Carlberg
    • Police Officer
    • (uncredited)
    Malin Ek
    Malin Ek
    • Woman in Dream
    • (uncredited)
    Barbro Hiort af Ornäs
    Barbro Hiort af Ornäs
    • Woman in Dream
    • (uncredited)
    Svea Holst
    • Verner's Wife
    • (uncredited)
    Marianne Karlbeck
    • Woman in Dream
    • (uncredited)
    Annicka Kronberg
    • Katarina
    • (uncredited)
    Brita Öberg
    Brita Öberg
    • Woman in Dream
    • (uncredited)
    Hjördis Petterson
    Hjördis Petterson
    • Johan's Sister
    • (uncredited)
    Brian Wikström
    • Police Officer
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • Writer
      • Ingmar Bergman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews58

    7.611K
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    Featured reviews

    JOHNNYDOLLARS

    Stunning film concerned with human relationships.

    Bergman is the master when it comes to dealing with the intricacies of love and relationships, this film is extraordinary in the way it slowly gives us an insight into these four lost souls as the struggle to make sense of life and try to find their way which isn't easy, the bleak landscape, the desolation, the sparse dialogue, Liv Ullemans face in close up all come together to produce an explosive emotional roller-coaster with an inevitable outcome, the violence of the characters emotions spill over into the environment in the form of an unexplained killer of dumb animals.

    Where are the contemporary films to match such genius, where are the voices to guide us through the fog?
    10Jeff-370

    It's wonderful to see a film made with such care

    This is par for the course with Bergman, though. I have enjoyed all of his films that I've seen, which I admit is not many. This one touched me even more deeply than the others.

    The topics touched on in this film include isolation, truth in relationships, mob mentality, but most importantly isolation from an emotional point of view. The interviews with the actors that are spliced into the film provide insight as well as divisions between sections of the narrative.

    Perhaps what I liked best, however, is the inventive way the script reveals elements of the story. Sometimes a voice-over provides necessary information, and other times the information comes through the characters' conversations -- but never in an annoying "quick exposition" kind of way. For example: Although the affair between Anna and Andreas is the central story, it shows up in an odd place in the film.

    But that is just one of the examples of the unusual construction that makes this film so unique and masterful. I recommend this to anyone who can read subtitles.
    8Xstal

    Ever Increasing Whirlpools...

    If you take a shovel, and dig right into the middle, there are things you'll likely find, quite impossible to riddle, conundrums wrapped entwined, blind alleys, sacs that bind, confusion, chaos, mayhem all well signed; encompassing them all, is the fear of standing tall, of being seen to fall, of rejection all around, the desire to be found, the need to melt into the ground, just to live as if not bound; but you're moulded in their vision, taught to be so since incision, told what, where, when, who you are, plasters, shields overlay scars, behaviours born from who knows where, send your chaos to despair, no support for your constructions, can relieve these sad contortions.

    If you don't recognise something in them in you, you're in denial.
    7SnoopyStyle

    for Bergman fans

    Andreas Winkelman (Max von Sydow) is a recluse living in an isolated farmhouse. He meets Anna Fromm (Liv Ullmann) who is mourning her losses. Eva (Bibi Andersson) and Elis Vergerus (Erland Josephson) are a neighboring couple. Someone is torturing animals. First, a puppy is left hanging and then sheep are senselessly slaughtered. There are inserted scenes of actors doing behind-the-scenes interviews to discuss their roles.

    For Ingmar Bergman acolytes, this is a secondary work. Bergman is not really my thing. I see he's looking at humanity. In this one, it is violence and distress. These are perfect natural performances. They don't necessarily excite me although the animal cruelty jolts me with the shock of it. This is not for everyone. For cinephiles or more specifically Bergman fans, this is a box that needs to be checked.
    Ben_Cheshire

    Mockumentary scenes to pull you out of a Bergman film... Just what we didn't ask for.

    Disappointing after Shame, which was near-perfect. Clearly an experiment to break the third wall in a Bergman film, just not at all something I wanted from a Bergman film. I like to be completely absorbed in the reality of the situation. An improvised dinner-party scene where the actors bandy about miscellaneous pretentious ideas, mockumentary moments where "Liv Ullman" and "Max von Sydow" are interviewed about the characters just didn't work for me. I had to turn it off. Will try again at a later date maybe, but I've only just started finding Bergman films I love, this was not a good choice...

    There were scenes I liked, but then I'd get dragged out of the spell by the mockumentary scenes, very strange.

    4/10

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    Related interests

    Max von Sydow and Bengt Ekerot in The Seventh Seal (1957)
    Swedish
    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film, commonly known as "En passion" (or "The Passion" aka "The Passion of Anna"), has an actual on-screen title of "L 182".
    • Quotes

      Anna Fromm: Andreas, we should travel somewhere. We should get away from here. I know it would be good for us both.

      Andreas Winkelman: When you speak of traveling, I really want to say yes.

      Anna Fromm: What are you thinking?

      Andreas Winkelman: That we can speak to Elis. He can lend us money. But at the same time a wall appears. I can't speak. I can't show that I'm happy. I can see your face, I know you're you, but I can't reach you. Do you understand what I mean?

      Anna Fromm: I understand what you mean. I understand very well, Andreas.

      Andreas Winkelman: I'm on the outside of this wall. I put myself on the outside. I fled and now I'm so far away.

      Anna Fromm: I understand, Andreas. I understand how strange it seems.

      Andreas Winkelman: Yes, it's strange. I want to be warm, tender and alive. I want to break free. You understand, don't you?

      Anna Fromm: It's like a dream. You want to move, you know what to do, but you can't. Legs are impossible and arms heavy as lead. You want to speak, but you can't.

      Andreas Winkelman: I'm terrified of being humiliated. It's constant misery. I've accepted the humiliation and let them become part of me. Do you understand what I mean?

      Anna Fromm: I understand what you mean. I understand you.

      Andreas Winkelman: It's terrible not being fortunate. Everybody thinks they have the right to decide over you. Their benevolent contempt. A momentary desire to trample something living.

      Anna Fromm: I understand, Andreas. You don't need...

      Andreas Winkelman: I'm dead, Anna. No, no, I'm not dead. No, that's wrong. Too melodramatic. I'm not dead at all. But I live without self-respect. I know it sounds silly - pretentious - since almost all people are forced to live without self-worth. Humiliated to the core, stifled and spat upon. They just live. They know nothing more. They know no alternative. Even if they did, they would never reach for it. You understand? Can you be sick from humiliation? Is it a disease we're all infected by and we have to live with? We talk so much about freedom, Anna. Isn't freedom a terrible poison for the humiliated... or is the word "freedom" only a drug the humiliated use in order to endure. I can't live with this. I've given up. Sometimes it's almost unbearable. The days drag by. I feel like I'm choking on the food I swallow, the crap I get rid of, the words I say. The light - the daylight which comes every morning and yells at me to get up. Or the sleep which always brings dreams, chasing me back and forth. Or just the darkness rattling with ghosts and memories. Has it occurred to you, Anna, that the worse off people are, the less they complain? Eventually they're silent... even though they're living creatures with nerves, eyes and hands. Massive armies of both victims and executioners. The light which rises and sinks heavily. The cold approaches. Darkness. The heat. The smell. And everyone is silent. We can never leave this place. I don't believe in escape. It's too late. Everything's too late.

    • Alternate versions
      The Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray have the additional opening Criterion and Janus Films logos plus the 2016 restoration disclaimer.
    • Connections
      Featured in Liv Ullmann scener fra et liv (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Always Romantic
      Performed by Allan Gray

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 28, 1970 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Sweden
    • Language
      • Swedish
    • Also known as
      • Strast
    • Filming locations
      • Fårö, Gotlands län, Sweden
    • Production companies
      • Svensk Filmindustri (SF)
      • Cinematograph AB
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,814
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 41m(101 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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