«ANNA»: the road to freedom is sometimes strewn with corpses

Cinema Wednesdays - Melisa Oriol

With his latest film, Luc Besson has succeeded splendidly in creating a real Matryoshka (Russian doll) that is a pleasure to discover. Not least thanks to the marvellous Sasha Luss, who plays here her second role, but certainly not her last!

In the worthy tradition of Léon (1994) and Nikita (1990) by the same director, that the Anna. Once again, the story revolves around a female protagonist. A young Russian woman trying to find meaning in her life by joining the KGB. But getting in is one thing, getting out is another! Anna is that kind of Badass whom we adore and for whom we feel total empathy. From an insignificant being, she climbs the ladder and asserts herself as a true killer, as beautiful as she is courageous. And it's with undisguised pleasure that we follow her as she evolves from larva to butterfly.

Matryoshka

The film is constructed in the image of Russian dolls, which always conceal numerous figurines. Each key sequence is shown from different points of view, often provoking a general surprise! It's an ingenious choice that forces us to pay close attention to all the details, because they do matter. This idea of double vision is constant in the multiple characters that Anna (Sasha Luss) will have to embody during her infiltrations, but also in the very choice of title, which is presented as a palindrome.

Luc Besson has once again gambled heavily on direction. This choreographed battles unfold before our very eyes. In In contrast to these films, which are often clumsy when it comes to filming a action sequences, Anna let the gesture to blossom. Whether with a Beretta or fists, in a bar or a bunker bar or bunker, it's a success every time.

Mirror, my beautiful mirror

Cillian Murphy, said to have the most beautiful eyes in cinema today, Sasha Luss with her piercing sky-blue irises, Oscar-winner Helen Mirren and Luke Evans with his tenebrous gaze. What a casting! The film aptly highlights the strengths of each of its actors, sometimes with close-ups of facial expressions, sequences of complicity or elaborate eye contact. Although the protagonist is just starting out in the world of cinema, she doesn't let herself be thrown off balance by these icons who surround her and whose talent no longer needs to be proven. It's a truly breathtaking performance from the twenty-seven-year-old Russian woman, a true chameleon.

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Photo credit: © Elite Film