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diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/dead-mans-letters-1986.md b/content/reviews/movies/dead-mans-letters-1986.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f621746 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/movies/dead-mans-letters-1986.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ ++++ +title = "Dead Man's Lettes (aka Lettes from a Dead Man, 1986)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-06-25T22:56:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2010 +reviewSection = ["Movies"] +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "A short review of SciFi classic" +image = "reviews/covers/dead-mans-letters.jpg" +aliases = ["brain-rot/eastern-block-scifi/dead-mans-letters-1986/"] +rating = 5 ++++ + +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. + +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. |