Letter from an Unknown Woman

"The course of our lives can be changed by such little things."

Dream images of a city bathed in melancholy by the snow, over which hovers the foreboding of a great caesura: around 1900, the schoolgirl Lisa falls hopelessly in love with the pianist Stefan, who is spoiled by success. An amour fou that will accompany her for the rest of her life, although she only finds fulfillment in the magic of a long, shared night. Letter from an Unknown Woman is not only “the” Zweig adaptation and considered a classic of literary adaptation, it is also a film that enchants to this day. When the painted landscapes of the world pass by in front of a dummy train in the Prater, it refers to the machine of cinema and the enormous artistry that Ophüls and cinematographer Franz Planer put into their return to Vienna, which was realised exclusively in studios in Los Angeles.

- Florian Widegger / Programme Director, Filmarchiv Austria
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