Anna Freud - Under Analysis 2003
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th Street, New York, NY 10016; 202-808-4980
Produced by Vibegirl Productions
Directed by Alana Cash
VHS, color, 54 min.
Sr. High - Adult
Psychology, Biography
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Gerald Notaro, University Librarian, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, University of South Florida, St. PetersburgAnna Freud is often criticized for defending the orthodox views of her father Sigmund, rather than culling their growth and evolution. Anna Freud – Under Analysis affirms it to be a narrow and unjustified interpretation of her life and work. The video is more than a biography of Anna, which is partly its weakness. The research on her life as portrayed by the video is thorough and the narrative line is compelling. It is when the video strays to “analysis of analysis” by a psychoanalysist and child development experts that the pace deadens and interest in Anna’s story wanes. It is an unfortunate affect, because her contributions to child development theory and child welfare rights are considerable. In addition, sound effects in the video sometimes obscure the narration, especially when covering Anna’s activity throughout the war years. The video concludes, as does Anna’s biographer Elisabeth Young-Bruehl (Anna Freud: a biography, 1988), that Anna and her lifetime partner, Dorothy Tiffany Burlingham, had a relationship that was nonsexual, frequently referred to as a “Boston marriage.” Recommended for academic collections.