Chaotic Ana (2007)
"Caótica Ana" (original title)

A countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7... until 0, like in hypnosis, through which Ana proves that she does not live alone.

Director:

Julio Medem

Writer:

Julio Medem

Stars:

Manuela Vellés, Charlotte Rampling, Bebe

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Manuela Vellés	...	Ana
Charlotte Rampling	...	Justine
Bebe	...	Linda (as Bebe Rebolledo)
Nicolas Cazalé	...	Said
Asier Newman	...	Anglo
Matthias Habich	...	Klaus
Lluís Homar	...	Ismael
Gerrit Graham	...	Míster Halcón
Raúl Peña	...	Lucas
Giacomo Gonnella	...	Guardaespaldas
Leslie Charles	...	Jovoskaya
Juanma Lara	...	Dueño
Diego Molero	...	Adiestrador
Angel Facio	...	San Juan (as Ángel Faccio)
Antonio Vega	...	Himself

Storyline

The teenager artist Ana is raised in Ibiza by her German father Klaus in a naturalist lifestyle in a cave. One day, she meets a woman called Justine that invites Ana to move to Madrid, offering education and economical support, to live in an old house with other artists having classes of Arts and with the only commitment of studying. Ana befriends her mate Linda (Bebe) and falls in love for the problematic Said, having her first sexual experience with him. After a period together, Said leaves Ana, and then she is hypnotized by Anglo, discovering her past lives and deaths.

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Plot Keywords:

hypnosis | cave | art | ibiza | hawk | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Alicia Produce (Spain) Official site [es]

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish Arabic French English

Release Date:

24 August 2007 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Chaotic Ana

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

€9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alicia Produce, Sogecine, Volcano Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the paintings by 'Ana' in the film were actually painted by Julio Medem's sister Ana Medem, who died just on the eve of a big exhibition of her work.

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Connections

Referenced in Museo Coconut: El mundo de Julio Medem (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Agárrate a mí, María"
Written by Enrique Urquijo
Performed by Antonio Vega

User Reviews

Weaving, magical, masterful

Having now seen all six of Medem's DVDs in his Spanish released "Collection", I was worried that this last one, would be rubbish. Other reviews and reviewers hint at such but I found it utterly intense and mesmerising.

Anyone having seen more than one of Julio's films knows that logic often disappears and an adult fantasy awaits. Beautiful sexuality, strange and exotic visuals, stunning landscapes and a chequerboard of interlocking story pieces that sometimes sort of connect. I loved not knowing what was going to happen next, or who Ana's next incarnation was going to be.

Instead of trying to make sense of it all, just light a candle of two, turn out the lights and let it overwhelm you. This is a director of immense imagination and he has the guts to follow them through and onto film. The ravishing paintings done by his late sister alone are worth seeing.

Here in the U.K., I've not seen any of the regular actors of Medem's in any other director's films. So, it was nice to see the reassuring maturity of Charlotte Rampling and her character as the Patron of the Arts that takes Ana under her wing perfect for her and she plays it superbly, of course.

Chaotic Ana isn't my favourite Medem flick, The Red Squirrel is. All his films are quite long and meandering and it is this unpredictability and superb visual tapestry that makes me rate him so highly.