Passion of Anna

This film represents some remarkable changes for Bergman; using color
in as careful and striking away as had been using black and white, and
a looser, less astringent feel to the story telling (indeed, this was
the first film where he experimented with letting his actors
improvise). The film feels more human, the edges softer. On the other
hands, the themes are classic middle period Bergman ' lies vs., truth,
hope vs. despair, etc. And on a plot level there are some interesting
echoes of 'Persona' in both its confused identities and Godard like
interruptions, but in a much subtler more smoothly integrated style.

I found the wonderful acting and fascinating film-making choices
overrode the problem of distance I feel with some of Bergman's early
and middle work. I always admire the films; the bravery, the acting,
the style, the deepness of their ideas, the complete lack of
compromise. But sometimes I just don't feel as drawn in on a visceral
level.

The story; four people on an island; an ex'criminal hiding from
society, an architect with disdain for humanity and his fragile,
insomniac wife, and their friend Anna whose husband and child died in a
car wreck which left her with a limp all end up having their lives
intertwine, leading to revelations and the stripping away of
self-delusions.

The title 'The Passion of Anna' was an invention of the US distributor,
over Bergman's favored 'A Passion'. This is a case where a wrong title
can seriously effect one's perception of a film, since Anna is really a
supporting character. Beyond this, 'A Passion' makes clear the fact
that all four characters in the film are working their way through
emotional destruction, as Christ went through physical destruction in
The Passion. Further, the only title on screen is 'L 162', Only one
professional critic I've read tried to make sense of the actual title's
meaning (his guess: A file number that one of the four characters keeps
various photographs, often of violence, under.)

People who aren't "turned off" & disgusted by the current state of the world (enviromentally, politically, culturally, sociologically, etc.) will immediately understand this film and appreciate its beauty! Upon the first time seeing it, I felt it was unfocused and confused. The second time, when it occured to me that these people were living in front of the backdrop of something emotionally emasculating (random slaughtering, War, whatever you want to supplement), I realized what a masterpiece this film is. That uneasy feeling that life is unraveling all around you, that human beings are destroying each other, even though you don't directly see it...Bergman captures that feeling beautifully.

The interviews in the film bothered me for a while, but then I started to view them (and commend Bergman's brillance) as Brechtian distancing effects, as if Bergman is saying: "yes, live vicariously through these people, but after all they're just characters representing something, but they are NOT these people, so what???". Fantastic!

If you don't already own this and you love Bergman, what's wrong with you???

The movie itself is fascinating but the transfer is so-so. I don't know if it's a problem with my copy but the image is not
centered (I had to rotate the image).