Ricordare Anna

Ricordare Anna is a 2005 Swiss drama film directed by Walter Deuber and written by Deuber and Josy Meier. Starring Mathias Gnädinger and Bibiana Beglau, it follows a father who travels to Sicily in search of his dead daughter’s past. The film premiered in January 2005, and Gnädinger was nominated for Best Performance in a Leading Role at the 2005 Swiss Film Award.

Synopsis

Following a heart attack, a father travels to Sicily in search of his daughter, who had lived there with her Italian husband before dying of AIDS. Confronted with the past, he gradually moves toward forgiving the son-in-law he had long held responsible.

Cast

The cast includes:

Mathias Gnädinger as Viktor Looser

Bibiana Beglau as Anna Looser

Pippo Pollina as Salvo Marotta

Margareta von Krauss as Olga Marotta

Suly Röthlisberger as Beth Looser

Production

Walter Deuber first developed the project under the title Die Schlange hat nicht gelogen, drawing on the story of a family affected by AIDS. As the film evolved, he reshaped the material into a fictional narrative with Josy Meier as co-writer. The production made use of Sicilian locations linked to the story behind the film, and was shot on a minimal budget in Swiss German and Italian after no German or Italian co-producer was secured.

Reception

Awards and nominations

At the 2005 Swiss Film Award, Mathias Gnädinger was nominated for Best Performance in a Leading Role.

Critical response

Cineman wrote that the film pushes its sense of interconnectedness and its reconciliatory ending too far, but described it as a moving film with a first-rate supporting cast. Filmdienst described the film as a tightly woven dreamlike drama that moves across several narrative and symbolic levels. Filmbulletin described the film as a brilliantly acted and superbly directed Swiss film.