The Soviet Union in 1942, in a village occupied by Germans. Outside the war rages, but inside the school’s attic, little Anna lives her own life.
The war has left Anna completely alone, abandoned by the rest of humanity. In her own world, in the old school’s attic, she has the cat, the mice and the pigeons as friends. Around her are artifacts from the communist Soviet Union. From her lookout spot, she can see both war and oppression. We watch as Anna resorts to all means available to survive. She feels terrible and is on the brink of capitulation. Anna’s War shows the war from a completely different perspective and situates itself alongside Elem Klimov’s Come and See. Magnificent portrayals of small people exposed to the brutality of war.
- Freddy Olsson / https://program.goteborgfilmfestival.se/
A little Jewish girl and the Second World War. One and only hero. Cinematic space is limited to the insides of a fireplace, and the geography of events is limited to the classroom of a village school that had been turned into a Nazi commandant’s office. Inside the fireplace the girl finds a safe place where she makes a nest for herself. A home. Outside is an insane world of adults. We see it’s reflection in a bubbly amalgam on the old mirror. This is the story of survival and victory. Robinson Crusoe had it easier: he was an adult, he wasn’t alone, and he had a whole island for himself. Anna is six years old, no one is there to help her, and there is only a small chance of finding food at the commandant’s office. Thirst and hunger are a constant in Anna’s life. There are no flashbacks in the film because the past is dead. There is no future. There is only the present. Only what happens now is significant. The film isn’t black and white. Anna is a child and so there are many bright colours around her. The walls of the old school are blue and green. In the classroom there is a lot of red. On set there are many authentic Soviet school objects from the 30s and 40s. The soundscape of the film is diverse, there are dialogues from the Commandant’s office workers: Germans, Ukrainians, Russians. Also present are voices of soldiers: Germans, Frenchmen, Hungarians, Romanians. The German radio plays the propaganda programs and music. Neither the viewer nor Anna can understand it all but it makes no difference. What matters is located inside the fireplace, in the world of Anna. Her beautiful world is reaching further and further and soon it will encompass the entire planet Earth – and Anna will win the World War.
https://program.goteborgfilmfestival.se/events/annas-war