Shona Baker’s breakout drama Anora last week won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, and its rating on Kinopoisk remains at 7.5, and on IMDb – 8.2.
What is so memorable about this film? Let’s figure out why it caused a furor at Cannes: an unusual plot, a director’s presentation or a moral message?
Brief description
This is not “Pretty Woman”: reality without romance
This is not a comedy, although the film pretends to be one
Genre uncertainty: drama, tragicomedy or something more?
Unexpectedly, but the film must be watched without translation
The manner of filming: a visual language that reveals the essence
Development of the story with the expected outcome
Watch, but not for everyone
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This is not “Pretty Woman”: reality without romance
What is the film about?: Anora is about a young Uzbek-American woman who works as a stripper in a Brooklyn nightclub. One day, Ivan, the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch temporarily residing in the United States, becomes Anora’s client.
Ivan buys her attention for a few days, takes her to Las Vegas, where they get married. At first glance, it seems that this is the beginning of a fairy tale, but here this fairy tale collides with harsh reality.
At first glance, it may seem that the film “Anora” is a modern version of the classic fairy tale about Cinderella, where a stripper finds happiness in a rich heir. But very quickly it becomes clear that there is no place for romance and a sweet love story, as in the film “Pretty Woman”.
Instead, we are plunged into a harsh reality where economic colors and illusions built on money lead to inevitable disappointment.
At the beginning of the film, “Anora” easily misleads the viewer, presenting us with another fairy tale about love and wealth. A sort of “Pretty Woman 2024”, a modern version for buzzers. Without romance, silky, but realistic. But the film is not about love at all. Ivan does not seek to start a family, he is simply comfortable living in an illusion where he can escape from anxiety and other problems, and Anora is in pursuit of profit, but without a clear idea of how this will change her life.
You look at their adventures and understand that sooner or later it will all end. After all, everything is banal, expected and even seems secondary. The question is what details the author came up with and how he showed it all.
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This is not a comedy, although the film pretends to be one
Sean Baker masterfully uses comedic elements to first lure the viewer into a story of lightness and fun, and then turn everything into tragicomedy.
The first scenes of the film are night parties, explicit scenes, Ivan’s childish behavior and his eternal desire to avoid problems. The Armenian “nannies” who are supposed to look after Ivan also look like comedic characters who are trying to correct his mistake, but do not understand how things are changing with him.
But underneath this mass comedy lies heavy drama. But before us is not a comedy about the funny adventures of golden youth, but a story about people who are not able to find true happiness, despite all the external trappings of success. Every comical moment becomes a sad reminder that their lives are meaningless and have real value.
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Genre uncertainty: drama, tragicomedy or something more
The more you watch Anora, the more difficult it becomes to determine the genre of the film. This is not just a drama about the world, it is not a tragicomedy about cultural differences. Over time, it becomes clear that this is a movie about the moral degradation of a society in which wealth and money cannot provide happiness or meaning in life.
All the adventures of the heroes are nothing more than a background for their inner emptiness.
Ivan does not know how to cope with the problem of his family and runs away into the world of entertainment and pleasure.
Anora, seeking to escape poverty through marriage, eventually realizes that money does not solve her problems.
The supporting characters, who could have been comedy caricatures, end up being more complex. Ivan’s Armenian assistants, while seen at first glance as typical gangster comedians, actually represent the class division and stratification of society. Their role in the film is not so much participation as influence, which for rich people, like Ivan and his parents, any problems are solved by “older” people.
These characters symbolize the very minimal difference between rich and poor, which even comedy cannot smooth out.
The Russian oligarchs depicted in the film symbolize the limitless possibilities of the rich class, where any problems are solved, but in the end this only leads to their isolation from the reality of life.
Yura Borisov, who plays Igor, seems to be the most “formidable” character, but he turns out to be the most humane and bright hero, which also takes the film out of the classic comedy genre. His appearance, despite all the funny moments, reminds the viewer that behind the comedic situations, the sun’s rays flash and internal conflicts deepen.
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Unexpectedly, but the film must be watched without translation
“Anora” is a film that speaks to the viewer not only through visual images and plot, but also through language. And this is precisely one of the main reasons why it is worth watching it in its original voice acting. Sean Baker, the director of the film, pays special attention to the variety of languages, which plays a major role in conveying meaning and creating a unique atmosphere of the film.
“Anora” uses three languages at once: 50% of the characters speak English, 45% speak English and another 5% speak Armenian. This multilingual approach allows for an appreciation of the cultures and classes facing the characters’ challenges.
Ivan and his entourage are a Russian-speaking world of oligarchs and their assistants, where power, money and status play a key role. Anora, although she understands Russian, is not part of this world, which only creates a feeling of alienation.
In English, the characters think of rudeness and neglect, and the English sounds more alien, as if they were speaking through a filter of separation. Armenian characters include their own flavor, introducing elements of comedy and lightness, but their language is another barrier through which one has to break through in order to understand the essence of what is happening.
With the appearance of the oligarch’s Russian assistants, a real “linguistic circus” begins. The characters switch from one language to another, which creates both comedic and tense situations. This gives class and individual cultural significance and adds realism to the picture.
The original voice acting allows you to feel the real cultural distance between the characters.
Without translation, you can better grasp the moment when the heroine begins to get lost between her desires and reality. The actors’ performances, natural expressions, accents and switching between languages help convey complex emotions that cannot always be expressed in words.
Watching a film in its original dubbing is an opportunity to better understand this multi-layered story, to experience it at the level of subtleties and subtle intonations. This is the only way to truly immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the film and feel how language divides and connects people, how it becomes not just water communication, but also part of their internal struggle.
Therefore, our advice is to go to the cinema, where there are shows with original dubbing. This will enhance the impression of the paintings.
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The manner of filming: a visual language that reveals the essence
The cinematography in Anora is one of the most powerful aspects of the film and helps convey the inner characters. Sean Baker uses visual language to conquer the story rather than just show pretty shots. Close-ups of the main characters allow the viewer to feel their emotional state, especially in moments when euphoria gives way to disappointment.
Locations play a major role in creating a contrast between the world’s characters: Anora’s poor, dirty Brooklyn and Ivan’s flowery but empty mansion. New York and Las Vegas at night are filmed in such a way that the impression of temporaryness and falsehood is created – as if the characters live in a world that will soon collapse. Each frame is framed in such a way that their lives are built on illusions that are about to disappear.
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Development of the story with the expected outcome
The story of Anora unfolds gradually, starting with light comedic episodes and ending with a dark drama about disappointment. At first, the look laughs at the absurd situations in which the characters meet, but by the end of the film it becomes clear that the laughter was only a cover for more serious and painful themes.
The film is not about love and not about France for the sake of happiness. This is a story about people who are unable to cope with their problems and live in illusions. Every step they take is an escape from reality. But reality will inevitably catch up with them, and this moment becomes the climax of the film.
The final scene of the film is the culmination of everything that has happened before. On the snowfall stage, all illusions finally collapse. This is not the happy ending that many expected. This is a cold reality where no one finds true happiness.
Snow symbolizes not only purification, but also the cold emptiness left after disappointment. The whole message of the film is that happiness built on money and false expectations cannot last long.
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Watch, but not for everyone
“Anora” is not an easy film for Sunday evenings, but it is a powerful statement by the author about modern society, economic conditions and moral degradation.
Sean Baker has created a complex and multi-layered story that makes you think about what is truly important in life. This is not a comedy, although it may seem like one, it is a tragicomedy, which behind a mask of lightness reveals the bitter truth about our vices and illusions.
If you’re ready for some serious thought and emotional immersion, Anora is a film worth watching.
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
