""Anora, this year’s feisty update on the 1990 film Pretty Woman, has become something of a critical darling. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Palme d’Or. Its lead, Mikey Madison, has been tipped to win best actress at the Oscars. And The Guardian just named it one of 2024's best films."
""The inspiration for the ending came from “Anora’s” key influence, Federico Fellini’s “Nights of Cabiria,” where prostitute Cabiria (Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s own wife) sheds a mascara-stained tear at the film‘s end after yet again being exploited by a would-be lover. Cabiria looks into the camera with a nod, as if to say, “It’s OK, keep laughing, I’ll be fine, I’ll go on.” In Baker’s film, we don’t see Ani’s face in the final shot, leaving her future more ambiguous and for audiences to potentially hope for a romance between Ani and Igor long after the credits. Maybe, but Baker sees it differently. We know at least Ani will be fine."
