Last Letter (2002)
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100% of critics liked it
(11 reviews) -
100% of users liked it
(10 ratings)
In 1941, a Russian Jewish woman doctor lives in a small city in the Ukraine just seized by the Germans. She writes a last letter to her son, a famous Russian physicist who lives and works far from the front lines at a Soviet science research institute. She writes the letter a few days before she… More In 1941, a Russian Jewish woman doctor lives in a small city in the Ukraine just seized by the Germans. She writes a last letter to her son, a famous Russian physicist who lives and works far from the front lines at a Soviet science research institute. She writes the letter a few days before she knows she and the other Jews in the city will be killed by the Germans. She speaks of her life, her relationship to her son, her love for him, her student life in Paris, her failed marriage. She recounts the reaction of her Russian and Ukrainian neighbors to the arrival of the Germans, the various responses of the Jewish community, the cruelty and horrors of the occupation, the help of some Russian neighbors, the greed and indifference of others, and her slow recognition that her Jewish heritage is more important to her than her Russian nationality or Communist ideology. The letter, with its detailed observations of daily life in the ghetto, reveals the fear, courage, frailty, compassion and dignity of this woman as she reviews her life and faces her death. -- © Zipporah Films
- Directed By
- Frederick Wiseman
- Written By
- Véronique Aubouy, Vasili Grossman
- Genres
- Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 29, 2003 Wide
- Studio
- Zipporah Films
Critic Reviews
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Samie, a leading light in the highly respected French theatrical academy, the Comedie Francaise, speaks with a broad range of subtlety and outbursts of emotion. And those words are powerful.
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Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
Mr. Wiseman's stubbornness is manifest in his work, and you will fall for the same quality in The Last Letter if you have any affection for his past work.
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Lou Lumenick, New York Post
In a tour-de-force performance, Samie conveys volumes with her powerful voice.
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J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Primal in its effect, The Last Letter demonstrates the power of language, performance, and narrative to hold an audience spellbound.
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Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Preserves for posterity a superb performance by Catherine Samie.
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