The Letters (2014 film)
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''The Letters'' is a 2014 American
biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed and written by William Riead. The film stars
Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...
,
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
,
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
and
Priya Darshini Priya Darshini (born 25 December 1983) is an Indian-American singer, composer, actress, professional sprinter, and entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, New York. She is known for musical recordings in both Bollywood and Western productions, her role ...
. It was produced by Colin Azzopardi, Tony Cordeaux, and Lisa Riead. It was released theatrically by
Freestyle Releasing Freestyle Releasing, LLC is an independent film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded in 2004, specializing in releasing films theatrically. Unlike most distributors, Freestyle Releasing does not put up any prints and advertising ...
on December 4, 2015.


Plot

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
(
Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...
), recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
, is considered one of the greatest
humanitarians Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
of modern times. Her selfless commitment changed hearts, lives and inspired millions throughout the world. The film is told through personal letters she wrote over the last forty years of her life and reveal a troubled and vulnerable woman who grew to feel an isolation and an abandonment by God. The story is told from the point of view of a Vatican priest (
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
) charged with the task of investigating acts and events following her death. He recounts her life’s work, her political oppression, her religious zeal, and her unbreakable spirit.


Cast

*
Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadin ...
as
Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
*
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
as Father Benjamin Praggh *
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
as Father Celeste van Exem *
Priya Darshini Priya Darshini (born 25 December 1983) is an Indian-American singer, composer, actress, professional sprinter, and entrepreneur based in Brooklyn, New York. She is known for musical recordings in both Bollywood and Western productions, her role ...
as Shubashini Das * Kranti Redkar as Deepa Ambereesh * Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal as Mother General *
Tillotama Shome Tillotama Shome is an Indian actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 63rd Filmfare Awards for her role in ''A Death in the Gunj''. In 2021, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) for portraying a praisewor ...
as Kavitha Singh *
Vijay Maurya Vijay Maurya is an Indian actor, writer and director who works in Hindi films and theatre. He is best known for his work in the 2019 Hindi musical film ''Gully Boy.'' Early life Maurya was born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His brother, A ...
as Maharaj Singh * Vivek Gomber as Ashwani Sharma * Pravishi Das as Dinsha Sahu * Rustom Mistry as Doctor


Production


Development

Riead began exploring ideas for an inspirational and uplifting film just before the devastating terror attacks of September 11, 2001, forced a realization on him that would come to define his project. “I didn’t know there was that kind of evil in this world until then,” says Riead. “The attacks really brought that home." ''The Letters'' became a labor of love for Riead during the fourteen years it would take to produce the film. The turning point for Riead was the discovery of a startling cache of heartfelt, formerly confidential letters written by Mother Teresa to her spiritual advisor, the Belgian Jesuit priest Celeste van Exem, over a nearly 50-year correspondence. In her letters, some of which have been published in the 2007 book ''Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light'', Teresa revealed a profound spiritual suffering and emptiness experienced by some other saints, often referred to as a dark night of the soul. Riead read all of the letters that were available to the public and decided that they would make up the spine of his screenplay.


Casting

When the time came to cast the film, Riead had a wealth of actresses clamoring to don Mother Teresa’s habit. To play her confessor, Father van Exem, Riead cast
Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
, the Swedish star who has been a favorite of directors ranging from
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
to
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
. When von Sydow asked the director for some insight into the character, Riead gave him a simple but telling answer. “I said, the whole world looked up to Mother Teresa,” he recalls. “And Mother Teresa looked up to Father van Exem. He just looked at me for a long moment, and he said, ‘got it.’ And that was it. He showed up and knew exactly what to do.” To portray the
sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
s and students of the Loreto Convent, the Bishop of Calcutta, Mother Teresa’s wealthy benefactors, and the residents of the poverty stricken slums, Riead cast professional actors from India’s Bollywood film industry, considered the largest in the world.


Filming

The film was shot primarily in India, with interiors shot in Goa and second unit filming taking place in Calcutta, Delhi, and Mumbai. The scenes featuring Max von Sydow and Rutger Hauer (as van Exem’s confidant, Father Benjamin Praagh), were shot in a 15th-century London monastery.


Release

''The Letters'' premiered at the
Sedona Film Festival The Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) is an annual, eight-day film festival in Sedona, Arizona. The festival was founded in 1994. The Sedona Film Festival screens feature films, documentary films, short films, animated films, and student ...
in February 2014. It was released theatrically on December 4, 2015.


Reception

Variety (magazine) ''Variety'' is an American magazine owned by Penske Media Corporation. It was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933, ''Daily Variety'' was launched, based in Los An ...
: ''The Letters,'' thereby leaving its portrait feeling flimsy and half-formed. Opting for dutiful, reverent beatification over flesh-and-blood characterizations (or insights), the film is merely a clunky primer on how poor storytelling can make even the grandest of figures seem small — a fact that’s true with regard to Teresa as well as von Sydow, in a monotonous, creaky performance best left off his resume.
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
: A movie exploring the conflict between Teresa’s outward confidence and private “darkness” could be psychologically fascinating. But simply having Von Sydow tell us over and over that she felt “a terrible emptiness” is no substitute for showing that torment in action. Not a trace of doubt or existential despair comes across in scenes of the nun’s life, and the script doesn’t even dip into those letters (a collection of which was published years ago) to let us hear of it in her own words.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Letters 2014 films 2014 biographical drama films 2014 independent films American biographical drama films American independent films Films about Catholicism Films about Catholic nuns Films about Nobel laureates Films shot in Goa Films shot in London Cultural depictions of Mother Teresa 2014 drama films Films set in India Films set in Kolkata Films shot in Delhi Films shot in Mumbai Films shot in Kolkata Films set in the partition of India Christianity in India Films about Christianity 2010s English-language films 2010s American films