Letter Never Sent (DVD Review)
Letter Never Sent (1959)
Starring: Tatiana Samoilova
Directed by: Mikhail Kalatozov
4 out of 5
Myles Herod
Entertainment Editor
Released in 1959, director Mikhail Kalatozov’s superb Letter Never Sent has been issued a second lease on life – thanks wholly to the efforts of The Criterion Collection.
The story concerns four Soviet geologists, prospecting for diamonds in remote Siberia. Gentle and committed Marxist-Leninists, they are all in love, Tanya and Andrey with each other, Sabinine with the wife he left behind, and Sergey who is left in forbidden, unrequited love with Tanya.
The idea of the expedition is that a source of diamonds will lead to the betterment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Like any adventure film, though, chaos rears its ugly head, affording the picture its greatest strength – its visual virtuosity. As the expedition is cut short by a searing fire, the team is forced to make a violent escape through burning debris, saving the map which points to the location of the much sought-after ‘white gold’.
As the surviving members of the expedition stagger through the charred landscape, the world seems indifferent to their plight, concluding with an finale that is worth purchase alone.
Special Features: Letter Never Sent has joined The Criterion Collection at #601, sparsely packaged as a bare bones one disc, accompanied with an essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova, who does a thorough effort at establishing the film's historical context.
Overall: The story may be rudimentary, but the lasting affect isn’t. Both director and cinematographer (Kalatozov and Urusevsky) regularly employ stunning visuals in wide angles to construct dense, grand enclosures, in which human forms are dwarfed. The effect is relentless, with bustling images that viscerally grab your throat and mind, and don’t let go. Prior to this release, Francis Coppola had a California archive maintain the only copy in North America. Luckily, The Criterion Collection saved it from disappearing forever.
Rent or Buy: Buy
