''Anna'' is a 1987 American

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and starring

Sally Kirkland Sally Kirkland Jr. (born October 31, 1941) is an American actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 film and television produ ...

, Robert Fields,

Paulina Porizkova Paulina Porizkova (; born 9 April 1965) is a fashion model and author. Born in Czechoslovakia, she moved to Sweden in 1973 and began modelling in France at the age of 15. In 1984, Porizkova became the first Central European woman to appear on th ...

Steven Gilborn Steven Neil Gilborn (July 15, 1936 – January 2, 2009) was an American actor and educator. He portrayed Harold Morgan on ''Ellen''. Gilborn was born in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Swarthmore College, where he was awarded a bachelor ...

and

Larry Pine Larry Pine (born March 3, 1945) is an American actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage, he began his career playing the role of Fop in the 1968 production of ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. He has since starred in film and television, with recurring role ...

. It was adapted by

Agnieszka Holland Agnieszka Holland (; born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her cultural and political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as an assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanuss ...

from an unauthorized story by Holland and Bogayevicz, based on the real-life relationship of Polish actresses Elżbieta Czyżewska and Joanna Pacuła. ''Anna'' received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with high praise directed towards Kirkland's performance. She earned a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...

, in addition to winning the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. Previously, there was a single aw ...

and the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead The Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead was one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding lead performance in an independent film. It was first presented in 1985 with Geraldine Page bei ...

Plot

Krystyna, an aspiring actress, journeys from her native

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in search of her idol Anna, an actress who was once famous in her homeland. Anna was imprisoned in Czechoslovakia after speaking out against the new regime after the 1968 Communist invasion, and was later banned from reentry to the country. Tonda, Anna's then-husband and a director of equal renown, was in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the time of the invasion and has since become successful in the United States making music videos for

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. Anna, who is now middle-aged and struggles to land parts in films and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, becomes a mentor for Krystyna and her fledgling acting career. As Anna manages to land a gig as an

understudy In theatre, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

for an

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play, she also tutors Krystyna in the English language and gives her a makeover. Krystyna blossoms as Anna's protégée, but when she uses Anna's life experiences as fodder for a TV show, the women's friendship starts to show strain.

Cast

Critical reception

Sheila Benson of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that ''Anna'' "is the best kind of surprise--a small, frequently funny, fine-boned film set in the worlds of the theater and movies which unexpectedly becomes a consummate study of love, alienation and loss." She described Kirkland's performance as "a blazing comet" and complimented Porizkova, Fields, and Maleczech. Though Benson critiqued director Bogayevicz's "melodramatist’s flair for sudden rainstorms to underscore emotional scenes", she said these touches were redeemed by the cast and Holland's ear for dialogue. Critic

Emanuel Levy Emanuel Levy () is a veteran, well-known American film critic and professor emeritus of sociology and film of Arizona State University. For the past 50 years, he has taught a wide variety of courses in sociology, film studies, and popular cultur ...

wrote, "Perhaps only a foreign screenwriter and a foreign director could have made the witty and cynical ''Anna'', a movie about an expatriate Czech actress in New York, struggling with her progressive age, ruthless competition, sheer survival and other problems inherent in showbiz."

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was less effusive and said the film was cliché-laden with too many unconvincing elements, though she praised Kirkland's performance. The film was likened by multiple critics as another version of ''

All About Eve ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story (and subsequent 1949 radio drama) "The Wisdom of E ...

''. Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', Hilary Mantel commended Bogayevicz and Holland, writing "their careful thought and commitment is evident" and "they have allowed scope for a fine central performance — intense, observant and painful — by Sally Kirkland".

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Yurek Bogayevicz 1987 films Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe–winning performance Vestron Pictures films 1987 directorial debut films 1987 comedy-drama films 1987 independent films American comedy-drama films Films about immigration to the United States Films about actors Films about theatre Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City 1980s female buddy films 1980s English-language films Films directed by Yurek Bogayevicz 1980s American films English-language buddy comedy-drama films English-language independent films