Joanna was one of several films that had an impact on me then and have stuck with me since then, mainly because they informed me of places and lives of which I had never before been aware, being at that time, a typical American living in an America-centered universe.
This is a corny, sappy telling of the story of a young girl looking for...something: life, adventure, herself? We're not really sure. But for some reason it has stuck in my memory mostly because it seemed to be an extension of the style of films coming from the UK in the middle and late 60's. Another kind of "British Invasion".
Among these were: A Hard Day's night (1964), The Girl With Green Eyes (1964), and The Knack and How To Get it (1965), Blow Up (1966). They all seemed to have that quality of gritty cinema verite infiltrated with dreamlike, music filled montages; which became more silly and less gritty as the decade wore on. Examples; What Did You Do In the War Daddy? (1966), Casino Royale (1967), and Joanna (1968).
Yet, for all the silliness and sappiness that Joanna had to offer, there were also wonderful moments in the film, Donald Sutherland supplying the most; but others too in amusing little bits of curious dialogue ("He has only one name, you know, like Montavani. Nothing Montavani, Montavani nothing").
And, if you were a teenager then, amusing sight gags such as the one when Joanna is asked what she'd like to eat (in the scene, she is topless, showing small breasts); cut to frying pan with two frying eggs, sunny-side up - ha ha.
Overall, though not necessarily great film making, it is still an interesting and nostalgic period piece, that somehow left one with a sense of nostalgia even in 1968.
This is a corny, sappy telling of the story of a young girl looking for...something: life, adventure, herself? We're not really sure. But for some reason it has stuck in my memory mostly because it seemed to be an extension of the style of films coming from the UK in the middle and late 60's. Another kind of "British Invasion".
Among these were: A Hard Day's night (1964), The Girl With Green Eyes (1964), and The Knack and How To Get it (1965), Blow Up (1966). They all seemed to have that quality of gritty cinema verite infiltrated with dreamlike, music filled montages; which became more silly and less gritty as the decade wore on. Examples; What Did You Do In the War Daddy? (1966), Casino Royale (1967), and Joanna (1968).
Yet, for all the silliness and sappiness that Joanna had to offer, there were also wonderful moments in the film, Donald Sutherland supplying the most; but others too in amusing little bits of curious dialogue ("He has only one name, you know, like Montavani. Nothing Montavani, Montavani nothing").
And, if you were a teenager then, amusing sight gags such as the one when Joanna is asked what she'd like to eat (in the scene, she is topless, showing small breasts); cut to frying pan with two frying eggs, sunny-side up - ha ha.
Overall, though not necessarily great film making, it is still an interesting and nostalgic period piece, that somehow left one with a sense of nostalgia even in 1968.