My first Chantal Akerman. The illustrated poster, and the sound of the plot convinced me. The Meetings Of Anna (1978) or sounds better in the original French title, Les Rendez-vous d’Anna, follows a film director named Anna (Aurore Clément – who would later star in Paris, Texas), a possible alter-ego for director Akerman herself, as she travels across Europe. We don’t see or hear much about Anna being a director or about her movies, it is more about the transitory spaces she finds herself in – hotel rooms and train carriages, different European cities and passing landscapes. The constant travel and the exchanges that she has with people. Whether they are strangers or people she knows, the conversations often feel one sided, people opening up to Anna, talking at length about their lives. Often projecting onto Anna who is usually silent and still, the person talking to her hoping for something and remaining disappointed. Anna’s reactions are up to our interpretation. The conversations they have often refer to the past, the impact of World War II and how lives are altered by larger historical forces. There is an elegance to the framing. Static master shots often, camera movement only occurs with tracking shots as Anna walks across a hallway or street. Close ups of Anna sitting on a train in emotional states. The film also deals with Anna’s desires, attempts at sexual trysts, questions about being a mother, confessions of bisexuality, apparently consistent themes in director Akerman’s work. A feeling of heaviness pervades, which is helped by the silence; the main music heard is whenever someone turns on the radio, usually the score is the sound of the train moving or traffic in the streets. This heavy feeling builds as the narrative continues to observe moments of sadness, particularly with people Anna has a strong emotional connection to, like her mother. But even if disconnection hangs over everything as a matter of course, there is also tenderness and affection expressed in gestures as well. Definitely makes me think of Abbas Kiarostami’s comment again about cinema: “I prefer the films that put their audience to sleep in the theater.” I did have to watch The Meetings Of Anna in stages with breaks as the rhythm was slow and observational. But it is absorbing, particularly with the great lead performance from Clement, just how she holds herself in space and how we read her stillness. Even just having a visual connection to her outfit she wears for travel, the brown corduroy coat and red shirt. Anyway, I thought it was great, an absorbing, slow, thoughtful art movie. Feels like a film I would get even more out of the second viewing, knowing where it goes and the rhythm more. Streamed it on the Criterion Channel. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 