The Letter movie storyline. The film opens in a Parisian jewelry store when a young and beautiful Mademoiselle Catherine de Chartres (Chiara Mastroianni), accompanied by her mother and Mme de Chartres’s close friend Mme de Silva. By accident, an aristocrat, Jacques de Clèves, a famous and wealthy doctor, is also there, even though they do not exchange a word.
Later all of them meet again in a Franz Schubert piano recital (D. 946) by Maria João Pires. While Dr. de Clèves falls immediately in love with Catherine, she doesn’t feel strong passion for him. Nevertheless she eventually accepts the marriage proposal from Dr. de Clèves. After a brief honeymoon, the couple settles in Paris.
One night the couple attends a gala concert where Pedro Abrunhosa, the well-known Portuguese singer, performs. Catherine feels an instant strong attraction towards Pedro. However, this passion leaves her divided and embittered by a strong sense of guilt, especially because she does not have the same feeling towards her husband. Meanwhile, Catherine”s mother falls very ill, and, before passing away, tells Catherine that she is aware of her attraction to Pedro but advises her not to yield to the passion but to maintain her reputation.
The Letter (French: La Lettre, Portuguese: A Carta) is a 1999 French-Portuguese drama film directed by Manoel de Oliveira. It tells the story of a married woman who has feelings for another man, and who confesses her feelings to her friend, a cloistered nun. The Film is loosely based on the 1678 French novel The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette.
The film was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize.[5]
The Letter (1999)
Directed by: Manoel de Oliveira
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Pedro Abrunhosa, Antoine Chappey, Leonor Silveira, Françoise Fabian, Maria João Pires, Anny Romand, Claude Lévèque, Alexandre Nanaia
Screenplay by: Manoel de Oliveira, Jacques Parsi
Production Design by: Ana Vaz da Silva
Cinematography by: Emmanuel Machuel
Film Editing by: Valérie Loiseleux
Costume Design by: Judy Shrewsbury
Set Decoration by: Ann Chakraverty
Distributed by: Gemini Films
Release Date: September 22, 1999
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