Édes Anna

Édes Anna is a 1958 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. It was entered into the 1959 Cannes Film Festival. The film is sometimes referred to in English as Sweet Anna, Sweet Anne or Sweet Ann.

Premise

In 1919, in Budapest, Anna, a young peasant girl, starts working as a maid for the wealthy Vizy family.

Cast

Mari Törőcsik – Anna
Mária Mezei – Vízyné
Károly Kovács – Vízy Kornél
Zsigmond Fülöp – Jancsi
Béla Barsi – Ficsor
Anna Báró – Tatárné
Kati Böröndi – Katica
Zoltán Greguss – Tatár Gábor
Hilda Gobbi – Etel
János Horkay – Druma
György Kálmán
Zoltán Makláry – Dr. Moviszter
Gellért Raksányi – Báthory
Erzsi Simor – Moviszterné
Viktória Ujváry –
Éva Vadnai – Drumáné

Production

An adaptation of Dezső Kosztolányi's 1926 novel of the same name, the film stars Mari Törőcsik in the title role. The film only had minor deviations and "a more sociological and historical edge by downplaying the psychological dimensions" from the novel.

Reception

The film has been considered "the epitome of a generation" and "ne of the most shocking classics in Hungarian film history". It also was noted in the career of Fábri as "a return to his top form, combining a portrait of the 1920s with penetrating psychological analysis."