Joanna (1968)

Joanna (1968)

“There’s no place for drags, baby… Stay cool!”

Synopsis:
Free-spirited artist Joanna (Genevieve Waite) searches for love and happiness in 1960s London.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Counterculture
  • Cross-Cultural Romance
  • Death and Dying
  • Donald Sutherland Films
  • Nonconformists
  • Surrealism

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary points out immediately in his review, this dated film is “bad and self-indulgent”, but nonetheless has some redeeming qualities — namely its ability to capture the zaniness and existential yearnings of the 1960s, as well as addressing interracial romance and showing confident, successful Blacks at a time when this was still considered taboo by many.

Unfortunately, Waite’s grating baby-voice got on my nerves immediately, and her wiggish hair makes her look like Phyllis Diller; I’m not surprised she only made two more films after this.

Redeeming Qualities:

  • Donald Sutherland as the dying, kind-hearted aristocrat Joanna befriends
  • An eclectic mixture of surrealistic filming techniques

Must See?
No, but film fanatics will likely be curious to check it out.

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One thought on “Joanna (1968)

  1. Agreed – not a must, though film fanatics may have marginal interest since director Sarne went on to ‘helm’ the hysterically inept (a must only as Exhibit A in how not to make a film) ‘Myra Breckenridge’. I remember reviewing ‘Joanna’ in Tokyo – it had long been unavailable and I kind of looked forward to what ‘nevertheless charmed’ Peary. I found it tedious – and even gave it another chance years later when the Fox Movie Channel showed it. Still tedious. A number of other films have offered better depictions of both the ’60s and interracial relationships.

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