Anne+: The Film 2021 Movie Review

『Between Self and Relationships: The Ever-Changing Truths of Love』

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: Anne+: The Film (2021)
🌍 Country: 🇳🇱 Netherlands
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Romance / Coming-of-Age
🗓️ Production & Release: Millstreet Films, 1 feature
⏳ Runtime: 94 minutes
📢 Director: Valerie Bisscheroux
🖋️ Screenplay: Maud Wiemeijer
📺 Platform: Netflix, selected international film festivals

👩‍💼 Cast: Hanna van Vliet – Anne Verbeek
Jouman Fattal – Sara
Thorn de Vries – Lou

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

🕸 Post-Web Series Anne: Stagnation and Inner Anxiety

The film depicts Anne several years after the events of the web series. Now approaching her 30s, she appears to live a stable life on the surface.

• Surface Stability vs. Inner Instability: Anne maintains a stable relationship with her girlfriend Sara and is about to publish a full-length novel. Sara is planning to move to Montreal, Canada, for a job, and Anne intends to follow her. On the outside, Anne’s life resembles the blueprint of a successful adult.

• Novel Writing as a Metaphor: However, Anne’s novel receives feedback from her publisher that "the protagonist lacks a sense of purpose." This metaphorically reflects Anne’s own life. Her relationships, career, and relocation plans have been made to meet others’ expectations or external circumstances, leaving her uncertain about what she truly wants, leading to internal wandering.

🌟 Boundaries of Relationships and Independence of Self

The film’s central conflicts revolve around Anne, Sara, and the newly introduced Lou.

🎲 Conflict with Sara: Avoidance and Lies About the Future

• The conflict between Anne and her girlfriend Sara begins with disagreements about the future. Sara is preparing to move to Montreal for work and expects Anne to join her in a few months. Anne, however, feels strong anxiety about leaving Amsterdam, her friends, and the community she belongs to.

• Anne hides her true feelings to maintain the relationship and even pretends to want a polyamorous relationship temporarily. This avoidance and lying illustrate her self-protective tendency to choose stability over honest confrontation. Internally, Anne struggles between not wanting to end things with Sara and not wanting to move to Montreal.

☀️ Lou’s Introduction: New Perspectives and Liberation

• When Anne feels frustrated about her relationship and future, Lou, a non-binary drag king artist, appears. Lou presents radical new perspectives challenging conventional ideas about gender, identity, and community.

• Through her interactions with Lou, Anne explores freedom of identity and artistic inspiration she had previously ignored, experiencing a sense of liberation from the suffocating aspects of her relationship with Sara. Lou acts as a catalyst, prompting Anne to be more honest with herself regarding her life and gender expression.

😊 Ultimate Conflict: Relationship with Self and Responsibility

• The film’s most crucial conflict is not the romantic triangle, but Anne’s relationship with herself. She must decide her true life path amid Sara, Lou, and the choice between Montreal and Amsterdam.

• In the climax, Anne finally confesses to Sara that she does not want to move to Montreal. This moment is less about resolving romantic conflict than about Anne acknowledging her own insecurities and privileges and taking responsibility for her choices. Through this confession, she asserts independence from external expectations and relationships, reestablishing her life as both a writer and an individual.

📜 Contributions and Critical Evaluation

Anne+: The Film expands on the positive legacy of the web series while leaving room for some critique.

• Expanded Representation: Featuring the non-binary character Lou broadens LGBTQ+ representation, portraying their life and gender expression seriously and sexually. Anne and Lou’s intimate scenes are praised for their honest depiction of queer sexuality.

• Mature Coming-of-Age Narrative: Whereas the web series focused on “Who should I date?”, the film addresses “What kind of person do I want to become?” delivering a more mature message of growth. Anne’s ultimate “happy ending” lies not in romance, but in completing her novel and regaining self-esteem.

• Criticism: Expository Dialogue and Privilege: Some critics argue that conversations between Lou and Anne include explanatory lines about queer theory and identity that interrupt the narrative flow. Additionally, Anne’s life, wandering solely within “freedom of choice” without economic hardship or severe discrimination, may appear as a privileged, upper-middle-class concern.

Anne+: The Film addresses the universal theme of directionless queer women approaching their 30s and reestablishing selfhood, emphasizing self-discovery and the importance of community over romance, confirming its value as a positive and mature queer coming-of-age film.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Level: ♥♥♥♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★