Full Description
Frederick Wiseman's considerable reputation as a filmmaker is grounded in decades of outstanding documentary work. We are proud this year to present his first narrative film-THE LAST LETTER (LA DERNIeRE LETTRE)-naturally based on a true story. In 1941, after the German invasion, a Russian Jewish woman is imprisoned in a camp and composes a farewell letter to her son before her life is taken. Wiseman's live-theater directorial debut was a production of this piece in Boston 15 years ago; it was based on a chapter of the novel Life and Fate by Vassili Grossman. In 2001, Wiseman directed a second, live theatrical version, at the Comedie-Francaise in Paris. The film centers on a riveting solo performance by Catherine Samie of the Comedie-Francaise. She brings the writer's words heartbreakingly to life, powerfully evoking her experience as the Nazis march the Jews in her town to their fate, and conveying her reflections on life and her love for her son as she contemplates her inevitable death. Wiseman's film is beautifully lit, with shifting shadows deepening the action on screen. This is a deeply moving, elegiac film, not to be missed.
