Anastasia review

Here is another review I wrote in the 1990's or "aughties." I introduce my CFI, the chewed Fingernail Index.

Anastasia

with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner

This was a funny and interesting version of the fairy tale – or is it fact?– of a lost Russian princess. 

Anastasia isn’t focused on the transformation of pauper to princess. It is there, but understated. Credit the editing process? This is not Sandra Bullock becoming Miss Congeniality. Nor is this the controlling Rex Harrison relentlessly forcing Audrey Hepburn into his Fair Lady. We gradually learn less about Anna by our time spent with her and more about the general (played by Yul Brynner) by what isn’t said about him. Indeed, perhaps more important than Anna’s simoultaneous ascent and descent is the general’s subtle progression.

  During her encounter with the Dowager Empress, the observer is treated to varying stages of acceptance for the mysterious girl. Unlike The Snows of Kilomanjaro (sp?), where we miss the crux of Gregory Peck’s salvation in his brief introspective whisper, (did he actually say any words there?), we do not miss the connections established between Anna Karen and the Empress. The coughing bit was a little much, but it confirmed rather than proved, if one might be allowed the distinction.

In an interesting twist, the true theme and high concept of love and acceptance is hidden through the whole movie until the fateful encounter between Anna and the woman she would call “Grandmama.” This is the whole point of the movie and we fortunately do not miss it.

Catty corner:

Ingrid Bergman looks a whole lot older than twenty six. It must have been the ten years in and out of asylums after the Russian royal family was murdered. She does sound Slavic when she speaks, very much like that delightfully exotic lilt of my Bosnian coworkers’. Just think: someone did accents before Meryl Streep. Therefore we can forgive the weariness in Anna’s eyes.

Yul Brynner looks a little young for his lofty title. Then again, how old was Yul Brynner? I don’t think he ever aged. And he sports some cool leather boots. Perhaps this reveals my own bias. I was, at four years old, the youngest of the princesses in our high school play The King and I. Our Siamese king was Michael Leslie, who later went on to be in The Wiz and Little Shop of Horrors. At least  I think he went on to Broadway from Manasquan. Manasquan is also the alma mater of another actor who was in the first movie of Little Shop of Horrors. What was his name? Oh yes, you may have heard of him: Jack Nicholson.

Mom’s corner:

Commendable (and rare in today’s entertainment world) is how the general restrains himself. There’s one zinger of a line where the general confesses his restraint, without actually saying it.  And there is the guitar scene. It doesn’t have the electricity of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed sharing the telephone, but it is seasonably warm, if not hot.

Chewed Fingernail Index:

0.

Recommendation:

If you’re going to spend some money and time on pseudo-historical entertainment, don’t waste it on Disney’s version. Rent this one. It’s safe for ten and up, but probably boring for the younger children. Anastasia has some amusing characters that add sugar and spice, which teenagers might enjoy.