The Passion of Anna (Swedish: En Passion) (commonly referred to as The Passion) is a 1969 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman was awarded Best Director at the 1971 National Society of Film Critics Awards for the film.
The audience is introduced to Andreas Winkelman, a man living alone and emotionally desolate after the recent demise of his marriage. He meets Anna, who is grieving the recent deaths of her husband and son. She uses a cane as a result of the car crash that killed them. While Anna uses Andreas' phone, he listens to her conversation, after which she departs visibly distraught. Anna has left her handbag behind and Andreas searches it, finding and reading a letter from her husband that will later prove she is deceptive.
Andreas is friends with a married couple, Eva and Elis (mutual friends of Anna) who are also in the midst of psychological turmoil. Elis is a photographer who organizes his work based on emotion. Eva feels Elis has grown tired of her and has problems sleeping. One night while Elis is away, Eva visits Andreas, as she is bored and lonely. They listen to music and drink wine, which makes them drowsy, and finally Eva sleeps for several hours. When she wakes up, they have sex. Afterward, she explains that during her only pregnancy years ago, she went to the hospital to treat her insomnia. The medicine they gave her helped her condition but killed the child. She conveys that it allowed her and Elis to share a moment of emotional affinity.
The fear of a daughter runs high
In the mind of a father to be
For something is growing inside
But we don't talk about it, do we?
In the long empty passionless night
Many times to herself she has prayed
That the baby will love her much more
Than the big boy who stole her away
And sometimes it takes
A grown man a long time to learn
Just what it would take
A child a night to learn
And sometimes it takes
A grown man a long time to learn
Just what it would take
A child a night to learn
It pains her to learn
That some things will never be right
If the baby is just
Someone else to take sides in a fight
Harsh words between bride and groom
The distance is greater each day
He smokes alone in the next room
And she knits her life away
And sometimes it takes
A grown man a long time to learn
Just what it would take
A child a night to learn
And sometimes it takes
A grown man a long time to learn
Just what it would take
A child a night to learn
A long time ago
She saw visions on the stairs
And when she felt dizzy
Her mother was always there
The home help is no help at all
I have not committed a crime
Angels gaze down from the wall