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Anora (film)

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Anora
Release poster
Directed bySean Baker
Screenplay bySean Baker
Produced by
  • Alex Coco
  • Samantha Quan
  • Sean Baker
Starring
CinematographyDrew Daniels
Edited bySean Baker
Music byMatthew Hearon-Smith
Production
companies
Distributed byNeon
Release dates
  • May 21, 2024 (2024-05-21) (Cannes)
  • October 18, 2024 (2024-10-18) (United States)
Running time
139 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Russian[2]

Anora is a 2024 American comedy drama film written, directed and edited by Sean Baker. It stars Mikey Madison in the title role of an exotic dancer and follows her beleaguered romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. It also stars Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, and Vache Tovmasyan.

The film premiered on May 21, 2024, in competition at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d'Or, the first American film to do so since The Tree of Life in 2011. It is scheduled to be released on October 18, 2024, by Neon.

Premise

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Ani is a young Uzbek-American[3][4][5][6] stripper from Brighton Beach, a Russophone enclave in New York City. As she is somewhat conversant in Russian, her boss fixes her up with Russian-speaking clients. After meeting Vanya, the son of a Russian oligarch, a romance kindles that, in addition to his desire to avoid deportation, leads to their elopement. Their fairytale marriage is threatened when Vanya's parents travel to New York intending to force an annulment.

Cast

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Production

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Principal photography took place at the beginning of 2023 in Brooklyn, New York.[8]

For Anora, Baker has stated that his intentions were towards "telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal [...] It's helping remove the stigma that's been applied to [sex work], that's always been applied to this livelihood."[9]

At a press conference in Cannes, Mikey Madison stated that Baker and producer Samantha Quan, who is Baker's wife, would act out different sex positions to demonstrate what they wanted the actors to do. Madison was offered an intimacy coordinator but said, "As I'd already created a really comfortable relationship with both of them for about a year, I felt that that would be where I was most comfortable with and it ended up working so perfectly."[9]

Andrea Werhun, a Canadian writer and actress best known for her 2018 memoir Modern Whore about her prior time as a sex worker, served as a creative consultant on the film.[10]

Release

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Worldwide distribution rights were acquired by FilmNation Entertainment in October 2023. The film was then sold by FilmNation to Le Pacte for France, Lev for Israel, Kismet for Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world excluding North America in deals similar to those made on Baker's previous film, Red Rocket.[8] In November 2023, Neon acquired North American distribution rights to the film,[11] and is scheduled to open it in a limited release on October 18, 2024.[12][13]

Anora premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024,[14][15] and won the festival's Palme d'Or on May 25.[16] It earned a 10-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening.[17] It became the fifth consecutive Palme d'Or winner distributed by Neon in the United States; previous winners include Parasite, which would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Titane, Triangle of Sadness, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Anatomy of a Fall, also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[18] It is also the first American film to win the Palme d'Or since 2011's The Tree of Life.[19]

The film also played at the Toronto International Film Festival,[20] the New York Film Festival,[21] and has been selected by the Busan International Film Festival[22], the BFI London Film Festival[23] and several others.

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 61 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Another marvelous chronicle of America's scuzzy strivers by writer-director Sean Baker given some extra pizzazz by Mikey Madison's brassy performance, Anora is a romantic drama on the bleeding edge."[24] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[25]

Greta Gerwig, serving as the president of the 77th Cannes Film Festival Jury, commented that "[Anora] was something we collectively felt we were transported by, we were moved by [...] It felt both new and in conversation with older forms of cinema. There was something about it that reminded us of [the] classic structures of Lubitsch or Howard Hawks, and then it did something completely truthful and unexpected."[26]

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote, "[Anora is] a wild, profane blast [...] Even when Baker's storytelling and dialogue gets repetitive, Madison keeps things lively [...] I found myself torn between finding Baker's conclusions compassionate and sensing a vague whiff of something patronizing. [...] Baker's explorations of outsiders tend to tread between graciousness and gawking, benevolent anthropology and the more malevolent, missionary kind."[27]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival May 25, 2024 Palme d'Or Sean Baker Won [28]
Miskolc International Film Festival September 14, 2024 Emeric Pressburger Prize Anora Nominated [29]
Toronto International Film Festival September 15, 2024 People's Choice Award 2nd runner-up [30]

References

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  1. ^ "Anora (18)". British Board of Film Classification. September 9, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "62nd New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. August 6, 2024. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (May 21, 2024). "Cannes 2024: Anora, Limonov, Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, Lula". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Zacharek, Stephanie (May 22, 2024). "Review: Anora Is a Glorious Strip-Club Fairytale with a Generous Spirit". Time. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  5. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (May 21, 2024). "Anora review – stellar turn from Mikey Madison in sex work non-love story". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Rooney, David (May 21, 2024). "'Anora' Review: Mikey Madison is a Delightfully Scrappy Force in Sean Baker's Cracked Cinderella Story". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Canfield, David (May 23, 2024). "The "Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity" of Cannes Darling Anora". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Lang, Brent (October 25, 2023). "'Red Rocket' Director Sean Baker and FilmNation Entertainment Reteam on 'Anora' With Mikey Madison Starring (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Ritman, Alex; Shafer, Ellise (May 22, 2024). "Sean Baker Makes Movies About Sex Workers in Hopes of 'Helping Remove the Stigma' — and He's 'Already Talking About the Next One'". Variety. Archived from the original on September 21, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Vincent Perella, "Sean Baker Didn’t Pick Up on the Similarities Between ‘Anora’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ Until Halfway Through Production" Archived September 21, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. IndieWire, September 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (November 2, 2023). "Sean Baker Pic 'Anora' Acquired By Neon For North America". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Lang, Brent (June 4, 2024). "Sean Baker's Palme d'Or Winner 'Anora' Scores Fall Release Date From Neon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  13. ^ Grobar, Matt (July 15, 2024). "'Anora' Trailer: Mikey Madison's Stripper Falls For Son Of Russian Oligarch In Neon's Palme D'Or Winner From Sean Baker". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Screenings Guide of the 77th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. May 8, 2024. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Ntim, Zac (April 11, 2024). "Cannes Film Festival Lineup Set: Competition Includes Coppola, Audiard, Cronenberg, Arnold, Lanthimos, Sorrentino & Abbasi's Trump Movie — Full List". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (May 25, 2024). "Sean Baker's 'Anora' wins Palme d'Or at 2024 Cannes Film Festival". Screen International. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Hipes, Patrick; Ntim, Zac (May 21, 2024). "Sean Baker's 'Anora' Gets 10-Minute Ovation In Cannes Film Festival World Premiere". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  18. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 25, 2024). "Fantastic Five! Neon Makes It Five Palme d'Or Winners In A Row As 'Anora' Scoops Cannes Top Prize". Deadline. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Rothkopf, Joshua (May 25, 2024). "Sean Baker's 'Anora' wins Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  20. ^ "Anora". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Anora". New York Film Festival. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "The 29th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. September 3, 2024. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Tabbara, Mona. "BFI London Film Festival unveils full 2024 line-up". Screen. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  24. ^ "Anora". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 13, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  25. ^ "Anora". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  26. ^ Sciences, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and. "Sean Baker's 'Anora' Wins Palme d'Or at 2024 Cannes Film Festival: See the Full Winners List". A.frame. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  27. ^ Lawson, Richard (May 21, 2024). "'Anora' Is a Raucous Good Time With a Gut-Punch of an Ending". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  28. ^ Murray, Miranda (May 25, 2024). Merriman, Jane (ed.). "Exotic dancer drama 'Anora' wins Cannes Film Festival's top prize". Reuters. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  29. ^ "The 20th Anniversary Edition of CineFest Miskolc IFF Ready to Take Off". FilmNewEurope. August 31, 2024. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  30. ^ Rebecca Rubin, "Tom Hiddleston’s ‘The Life of Chuck’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". Variety, September 15, 2024.
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