Released | Aug 31st, 2006 |
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Running Time | 90 |
Director | Jessica Nilsson |
Companies | Innocent Pictures, Wicked Pictures |
Distribution Company | Zentropa Productions |
Cast | Gry Bay, Thomas Raft, Mark Stevens, Ovidie, Thomas Lundy, Eileen Daly, Morten Schelbach |
Critical Rating | AAAAA |
Genre | Feature |
This slick chick flick with realistically explicit sex scenes comes from Denmark — where modern movie porn more or less began. Innocent Pictures is a subdivision of Zentropa Productions, the innovative Danish company associated with controversial director Lars Von Trier, specializing in hardcore made by and for women.
Shot in English, not dubbed, with Danish, English and French actors, mostly from the mainstream, it is beautifully crafted and constantly entertaining.
Johan, the love of Anna’s life, took off on a three-month sea voyage, and five years later is still sailing. She drowns her sorrow with a succession of sexual quickies — “no commitment, no casualties” — but when Johan unexpectedly pops up again, her passion reignites.
The two lovers try to reconnect emotionally and physically, but a series of missed cues and misunderstandings keep keeping them apart.
Anna’s brief lesbian encounter with an actress in Paris (French porn star Ovidie, the movie’s only professional adult talent) sets her on the path back to Johan. Finally they connect for a romantic — and explicit — ending.
Pretty blonde Gry Bay, a Danish pop singer, is perfect as Anna, as is hunky English actor Mark Stevens as Johan. Eileen Daily, a Brit horror-flick star, amuses as Anna’s horny roommate. None of them seem to have a problem with performing sex.
The sex is real, but not in your face as in porno, and the men use condoms. The extras disc includes a director’s cut that is no less explicit, just different from the producer’s version (and frankly not as effective).
The question is, why can’t mainstream American films move on up to this grown-up degree of sexual explicitness?
Retailing: This movie can be sold as either mainstream or adult — the best of both worlds.
— Jared Rutter
Gry Bay, the "Anna" of the title, is a babe, but she doesn't get down 'n' dirty until the end of this feature. First, she has to spend some time in sexual purgatory for not being faithful to the "love of her life" (Mark Stevens), who mysteriously leaves her one day, only to show up five years later as she's about to move in with a new boyfriend (Thomas Raft).
Anna and Stevens play sexual tag for a while, until she heads off to Paris to design costumes for a play while her oversexed roommate Ovidie gets it on with Stevens. Needless to say, Gry and Mark do the deed at the end.
Retailing: Decent productions values make this Scandinavian XXer a winner with the couples.