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+title = "Dead Man's Lettes (aka Lettes from a Dead Man, 1986)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-06-25T22:56:00+02:00
+categories = ["brainrot"]
+draft = false
+weight = 3002
+image_dir = "brain-rot/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+primary_menu = "brain-rot"
+menu_order = "name"
+abstract = "A short review of SciFi classic"
+image = "brain-rot/covers/dead-mans-letters.jpg"
+rating = 5
+[menu]
+  [menu.brain-rot-ebscifi]
+    weight = 3002
+    identifier = "dead-man-s-lettes-aka-lettes-from-a-dead-man-1986"
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+
+Let's get this right of the bat: _Dead Man's Letters_ is a masterpiece; one of the greatest movies I've ever witnessed.
+
+A Russian town after nuclear war.
+Professor Larsen, a Nobel Prize in Physics laureate, lives with his sick wife and few other survivors in the basement of a museum.
+For the next 88 mins you will witness pure, soul eating _bleakness_.
+
+Talking about the story doesn't make sense, as it's not the point.
+_Dead Man's Letters_ is very much akin to Tarkowsky's movies.
+It's poetry and meditation on human condition.
+There are long stretches of nothing but inner monologue of main character who _thinks_.
+Not much of _comment_, but rather a _study_.
+I don't think I've ever witnessed this type of movie outside Russian cinema.
+It's not Bunuel, it's not Kubrick - but at the same it's very much _this_ type of movie.
+More of an experience, than a 3 act story.
+
+{{< rating 5 "dead-mans-letters.jpg" >}}
+Cover
+{{< /rating >}}
+
+It's also one of the saddest movies I've experienced.
+No one is fighting for the future.
+They simply exist, waiting for the end.
+The only glimmer of hope is Larsen who thinks the was ended.
+But no one believes him.
+Maybe he even doesn't believe himself?
+
+The visual side very much reflects it.
+There are no real colors, everything is monochromatic but colorized.
+Just like in German Impressionism or _Stalker's_ scenes outside of The Zone.
+The movie is full of special effects, but none of them aim at wowing the viewer.
+You witness despair and the despair becomes part of you.
+Luckily, this is only 88 mins long - anything longer and it would be unbearable.
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091759/mediaviewer/rm794067713" alt="An old, white man wearing glasses. In sepia" file="dead-mans-letters-1.jpg" >}}
+The "hero"
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fbyjma8jabmc61.jpg%3Fwidth%3D964%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D02b9a40ac8c094bc25d79890adb64b07c86c26e5" alt="Two characters sitting by a metallic table. On the left, an old man hiding his face in his hands. On the right a balding white man. The scene is blue." file="dead-mans-letters-2.jpg" >}}
+You won't glimpse much happiness here.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+The movie is a directorial debut of Konstantin Lopushansky and was co-written by Boris Strutsky.
+Strugatskys Brothers are one of the greatest writers of _intelligent_ (up to a fault) SciFi, and Borise's talent is clearly shown here.
+Just like in their books, the story is there as means to an end; a medium to discuss humanity.
+It's not an easy movie to watch.
+It requires focus, dedication and a lot of thinking.
+You will get lost in it, and the movie may stay with you for a while - even though it won't ever be pleasant.
+It's an unforgettable experience.
+Too bad it's not widely known in the west.
+Maybe it's simply too convoluted?
+Or maybe it's just too different.
+Anyway, a masterpiece.
+I encourage everyone to at least _try_ to experience it.