Letter from an Unknown Woman
(China, 89 min, 35mm, 2004)
Director: Xu Jinglei
Producers: Zhao Yijun, Xu Zijian
Screenwriters: Xu Jinglei
Cast: Jiang Wen, Xu Jinglei, Liu Ye

Bolstered by breathtaking direction that won top honors at San Sebasti¨¢n, director and lead actress Xu Jinglei's remake of Max Ophuls' 1948 masterpiece is a symphony of stolen glances and forgotten moments. It tells the story of a girl's innocent love that became a lifelong passion and endured as her posthumous legacy. Based on Stefan Zweig's short story set in Vienna, Xu's film takes place in a China that evolves from a bastion of old world values to a land changed by war with Japan and, ultimately, to a nation torn by its march into communism. This charged political climate provides a telling metaphor for the story of Miss Jiang, who falls in love with her cosmopolitan writer neighbor (Jiang Wen), a man who never notices her on the periphery of his life. Six years after her mother exiles her to Shandong, Jiang returns to Peking and attends an anti-Japanese rally, where the writer notices her. A brief romance is sparked-and it has surprising, lifelong consequences for them both. Told through a series of flashbacks prompted by Xu's dying letter to the object of her affection, Letter from an Unknown Woman keeps the classic arc of the original film and updates it with an emotional core and melancholy cadence that could only come from China's filmmaking tradition. Xu and Jiang weave through a lifetime of brief encounters with quiet reserve, lifting a tale that's steeped in tradition to one that's unforgettable and timeless.

Director Biography:
Xu Jinglei was an established actor when she wrote, directed and produced her first feature, My Father and I (2002). Letter from an Unknown Woman is her second feature as a director and screenwriter. Other films include: Spicy Love Soup (Chinese Film Society Performance Award), Dazzling, Spring Subway (Beijing University Film Festival, Most Popular Actress), I Love You and Far from Home.
 
Screenings
• Sunday, February 13, 2005, Gusman Center, 6:00:00 PM
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