The documentary, Anna, is different from anything that we have watched this year. I thought the use of youth in the documentary through the interviews of Anna and the children’s speeches resembled the use of youth Burnt by the Sun. I think the different in answers to the questions as Anna got older was inevitable but very interesting. The first time she was interviewed, she gave very childish answers of being most scared of a witch. The next time she is interviewed, the idea of being scared to answer the question right and being unlike everyone else came up. The next interview she expressed concern for the state and economy as the political situation has influenced her to worry about these issues. Also, the film of the masses in large theaters shows the unity of the people and is a parallel to these interviews. Some of these images are of young children chanting that they are committed and loyal to the motherland. I struck me how young the people are started on obeying the motherland. This film gave a very interesting parallel of the youth in Russia to the political and larger issues in Russia.
I would also like the point out that Nikita Mikhalkov took the time the tell how hard it was to film and make a documentary in that time. All of the people working on the film were putting their lives in great risk due to the policies of art. I thought it was very interesting that he pointed this out in his documentary.