It’d be nice to be able to talk about movies like French director Luc Besson’s latest, Anna, without having bring things up like the past year in which he’s faced multiple allegations of sexual assult by women in addition to a lawsuit from at least one victim. But…we don’t live in a world that ideal, and Summit is contractually obligated to distribute the new assassin thriller as it intended after acquiring it in October 2017.
Alas, take from it what you will. It’s actress and model Sasha Luss’s outing next to an all-star cast from a director who banked big in 2014 with ScarJo starrer, Lucy, but lost big with Valerian and The City Of A Thousand Planets. That film was a major gamble for EuropaCorp which lost $101 million dollars the first half of the 2018-19 financial year as the studio faced up to $280 million dollars in debts on top of layoffs early last year.
And this was after Besson had the gall to say a Valerian sequel was possible. I don’t know what the deal is as I have about as much knowledge as the average Joe has on the matter. All I know is after his shellacking in the Parisian judicial system regarding his allegations of misconduct, Besson faces a question of whether or not his career can survive, and particularly so on the hinges of a film that dances heavily to the beat of female empowerment with an action/spy narrative.
Actress Sasha Luss looks quite the part in the title role if the trailer has anything to show for it, and now that it’s here following its production start two Novembers ago, I suppose one other question that remains is, will you go see it on June 21?
Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins. An electrifying thrill ride unfolding with propulsive energy, startling twists and breathtaking action, ANNA introduces Sasha Luss in the title role with a star-studded cast including Academy Award Winner Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy, and Luke Evans.
Summit Entertainment presents, a EuropaCorp – TF1 Films Production co-production, with the participation of OCS, TF1, Canal+, TMC.
