Directed by Kira Muratova • 1987 • Ukraine, Soviet Union
Starring Natalya Leble, Yuriy Shlykov, Vladimir Karasyov

Kira Muratova’s typically idiosyncratic adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham’s play “The Letter” unfolds in an outpost in colonial Asia where Maria (Natalya Leble, in a role most famously played on-screen by Bette Davis), the wife of a government official, kills her lover in what seems to be an act of self-defense—until the appearance of an incriminating letter casts doubt on her version of events. Making experimental use of audio and repetition, Muratova boldly deconstructs the narrative into a fascinating, often absurdist exploration of colonial guilt and moral degradation.