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Letter from an Unknown Woman

Letter from an Unknown Woman

Drama · Romance · 1948

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.

Movie details

Letter from an Unknown Woman

“This is the love every woman lives for…the love every man would die for!”

1948 Drama · Romance 1h 27m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.8 / 10

Community rating

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Letter from an Unknown Woman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Max Ophüls

Written by

Howard E. Koch

Joan Fontaine

Joan Fontaine

Lisa Berndle

Louis Jourdan

Louis Jourdan

Stefan Brand

Mady Christians

Mady Christians

Frau Berndle

Marcel Journet

Marcel Journet

Johann Stauffer

Art Smith

Art Smith

John

Carol Yorke

Carol Yorke

Marie

Howard Freeman

Howard Freeman

Herr Kastner

Court is in session

Put Letter from an Unknown Woman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.