'The Last of Us' Fans Shouldn't Skip This Overlooked 91% Rotten Tomatoes Dystopian Miniseries

Lord of the Flies, Maze Runner, and The Last of Us are just some of the many apocalyptic shows and films that follow the stories of how children respond to catastrophe and how they may choose to run the world. These types of stories provide nail-biting action and an added layer of tension when the imagery of children committing horrific actions is thrust upon us, as 2021's dystopian miniseries, Anna, displays both beautifully and frighteningly. This Italian series follows a young girl named Anna (Giulia Dragotto) after a virus known as Red Fever kills all grown-ups on the planet, leaving Anna to care for her younger half-brother, Astor (Alessandro Pecorella), in a world that has collapsed into chaos with children fighting for scraps to survive. There are several moments of tragic imagery involving religious connotations and the loss of innocence of these children. Yet, Anna still manages to portray the naivety of these young boys and girls via their response to death, which makes us all the more desperate for their survival so they may learn how to make the world a better place.

'Anna' Wastes No Time in Showing the Savagery of Survivors in the Apocalypse

There is something so horrifying about children losing all sense of morality, and Anna uses religion and school to portray this in a thoroughly effective way. When Anna ventures out into the world, away from the woods that keep her and Astor hidden, we feel the same expansive eeriness that we have seen in previous pieces such as 28 Days Later, with entire city blocks falling into squalor. However, while at first it seems like the kids are working together, with Anna helping two younger kids retrieve a pack of pancetta, we are quickly introduced to the brutality of the world when she and a boy named Pietro (Giovanni Mavilla) take both the meat and two drinks from these kids, before the storming of feet presents the true chaos of the world.

A horde of children not only swarm the place, but beat the other kids and, as we previously saw Cillian Murphy chased by the infected, a similar chase ensues after Anna and Pietro. When they run upstairs, littered with children's clothes as Christ on a crucifix watches, two things are achieved. Firstly, the religious connotations are clear as day, with the loving Jesus seeing how the humans he died for have forgotten his teachings, and secondly, the clothes that cover the stairs remind us of similar images and stories in the real world. Images such as the mountains of shoes left in Auschwitz, or the short horror story "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." These additions to the mise en scène of the world continue with sights such as dead nuns that Anna walks past without batting an eye that help to create an atmosphere devoid of morality.

'Anna' Forces Children To Deal With Death and the Unknown

The opening scene shows Anna telling Astor a half-truth to stop him leaving their sanctuary in the woods. She says that there are "gigantic birds" who will kill him, and he will suffocate from the air outside. Neither of these are true, but they come from a place of care and frame the entire apocalyptic show as a bedtime story to tell the people we care about in order to teach them about true morals. However, it also shows the tragedy of Anna's position. At roughly 13 years old, she is expected to take care of this boy, and one of the only ways she can do that is by telling him stories rather than rationally explaining what's happening. Astor jokes that he cannot wait for Anna to die, so the "magic" that allows her to go outside passes to him. While it is a joke, it's still something he says that he doesn't truly understand yet.

At one point in the series, we are introduced to twins, Paolo (Dario Di Vita) and Mario (Danilo Di Vita), and one of them begins to suffer symptoms of Red Fever. His brother argues the "worst part" of the virus is losing appetite. The fact that the infected twin corrects him that the worst part is dying shows the lack of understanding these children have around death, something they can only know once experiencing it themselves, rather than being slowly introduced to the idea as they grow up. The twins' love for each other — while not being able to truly express it through words — emphasizes how little they truly recognize what is occurring around them.

Overall, there are few shows that will make you feel as immersed in a post-apocalyptic world as Anna will. With its portrayal of children becoming animalistic, it focuses on what the world has lost with this virus killing adults and just how tragic the downfall of humankind would be. Furthermore, in the simplicity of many of the children's conversations around serious topics such as death, we see how woefully unprepared they are for such a dystopia.