Anna Karenina Movie was Nice to Me

So because of our visual arts group project, I watched the movie Anna Karenina, a movie I probably would never even come across if I never studies visual arts.

The story is about Anna Karenina, who is married to Karenin and they have a son and basically they are of high status in their 18th century world. Everything begins with a man named Konstatin proposing to Kitty, saying he is marrying "out of love" and that Kitty was an "angel".

Hence, the usage of white.

But Konstatin was rejected.

Then Karenina's sister, Dolly, chases her husband out of their home because he was cheating on her. Karenina and Karenin goes to Moscow to convince Dolly to take her husband back, because in this century, men were seen as superior to women and were forgiven when they committed adultery, while the wife was expected to be loving and forgiving and submissive.

While in Moscow, Karenina meets Vronsky, whom Kitty is wanting to marry. However, upon meeting Vronsky, Karenina falls in love.

They later attend a dance where Kitty hopes to meet and marry Vronsky. Every woman wears a joyful, lighthearted and playful colour during the dance, which is an analogy for the status quo of women being "pure" and "perfect" in that timing.

Kitty wears a white dress that symbolizes her hoped to get married, since white is often associated with brides.

In contrast, Karenina wears a striking black dress that shows the unhappiness of a married woman's lack of freedom in comparison to an unmarried woman's desire to be married.

However, when Karenina is next to Vronsky wearing white, it suggests that they balance each other out.

In a second party where Karenina is invited by Vronsky, she appears in a dull red dress that suggests lust and passion towards Vronsky. From above, it also appears to look like a rose.

After that, Karenina convinces Vronsky to stay in Moscow and they meet up in a hotel and make love. Then they appear in a scene with a lot of white used. This is the first time seeing Karenina wearing something bright, suggesting the pure happiness she is having from being with Vronsky.

Eventually, Karenina was preganant with Vronsky's child and admits to Karenin that she is indeed Vronsky's mistress. However, they could not divorce as Vronsky wanted to uphold his image and if they did divorce, Karenina could not remarry because of the adultery she had committed. It would also cause her and Vronsky's daughter to lose her safety as she wouldn't be under the surnam of Karenina

This can be compared to how Dolly's husband was treated after being found to have been cheating, where he was quickly forgiven and everyone acted as if it were okay for him to commit adultery. Whereas Karenina is shunned and outcasted by others.

After a whole lot more drama, Karenina, possibly from the stress of not being able to be with her children and being shunned by society and suspecting Vronsky to be cheating on her, Karenina commits suicide.

She wears a dull red dress similar to the one at the party, though this time it suggested death.

This whole movie questions the morals of being with a lover and how society respects men more than women. It questions whether Karenina was right to commit adultery. Morally, it is wrong to cheat but it is also wrong for the others to act completely disgusted with her and accepting it when a man doees the same.

My favourite thing about the movie is the transition, which is very similar to a staged play's.