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.
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Three Stories
Directed by Kira Muratova • 1997 • Russia, Ukraine
Starring Sergey Makovetskiy, Renata Litvinova, Oleg TabakovIn Kira Muratova’s darkly ironic triptych, three seemingly unlikely people are driven to murder—shocking acts of violence rendered by the director as a kind of monstrous comedy of the a...
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Among Grey Stones
Directed by Kira Muratova • 1983 • Ukraine, Soviet Union
Starring Igor Sharapov, Oksana Shlapak, Stanislav GovorukhinIn AMONG GREY STONES, Kira Muratova crafts a dreamlike coming-of-age tale, adapted from a short story by legendary Ukrainian writer Vladimir Korolenko. Reeling from the death of ...
