Anna

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" 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).

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.

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...

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...