Movie – letter from an unknown woman

Movie – letter from an unknown woman
Score : 6/10
Year : 1948
Director: Max Ophüls (or Opuls)
Country : USA
Language : English
Duration: 1h26

A few months ago, I had missed a unique session in the cinema, and now that I’ve seen the dvd at home (thank you media library) I’m glad I had missed… not because it’s a bad movie, but because there is so much fur in the second half, that it repulsed me. Read on, though, there are good things as you’ll see.

The movie starts in Vienna, around 1900, with Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), a pianist; as he refuses to honor his commitment to a duel, he receives a letter from a woman telling him that by the time he reads this letter, which she wasn’t sure she’d ever send, she might be already dead…
We then are invited to follow a narration by Lisa (Joan Fontaine) reading said letter and through flash back, to the beginning of her story which spans several years prior.
Directors seem to love making Joan Fontaine narrate, but that part is actually very well made: Joan’s voice intrigues and made me want to pursue watching, even if I thought I’d guess the story (parts of it, I actually did).




The music for a movie of this period was good, relying on piano, which is more pleasant to me than many other soundtracks.

I appreciated the story telling and narration, and the tandem acted elegantly; however, if it hadn’t been for the massive fur fest in the second half of this feature and a certain scene in a restaurant (eating lobster isn’t romantic!) would’ve made Letter from an unknown woman an almost perfect score… 

I say almost, because the musical score, although pleasant, wasn’t breath taking ; the cinematography didn’t stand out and felt like a project lacking time and/or funds (hey, maybe it did, in 1948!)

Overall, just above the medium, but I don’t think I want to watch it again – at least not soon. Better luck next time, eh ?