Anna

From time to time I watch various old talk shows or other similar formats from the time when there was nothing like that in the Czech Republic. And among the old interviews I came across Late Night with David Letterman with Paulina Porizkova from 1986. At that time, this famous model of Czech origin was experiencing a big breakthrough because she played a big role in this film and her colleague Sally Kirkland was nominated for an Oscar. Actually, the film opened in April 1987 and Oscar night wasn't until April 1988, but these things are set in motion long in advance. Kirkland had competition in Holly Hunter, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Cher (who eventually won thanks to Moonstruck). So much for the illustration that Anna is not a mistake or an incompetent B-movie. The production of Anna must have been extremely interesting, because for both Jerzy Bogajewicz and Agnieszka Holland the main themes of the film were very personal. Bogajewicz emigrated in 1976 and Holland is one of the famous FAMU students from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The fate of Anna and Kristýna was inspired by the life experiences of Elżbieta Czyżewska and Joanna Pacuła, and it can be assumed that the variation of the Polish-Czech theme was written on the body of the newly-emerging Porizkova. The resulting film is not uninteresting and is very valuable in terms of the development of the Western view of European realities. (05.02.2022)