I’m not much of a fan of melodramas. Most movies in that genre leave me indifferent at best, and unwillingly amuse me in the worst cases. However, there are exceptions, and in those cases the effect may be the opposite. In rare cases, in quality movies, the melodramatic effect works very well for me. This is the case of ‘Chère inconnue‘, a film made in 1980 by Israeli director Moshé Mizrahi, during the French period of his career, bringing to screen a novel written by Bernice Rubens, and starring three of the most formidable actors in French cinema at the time. The very uninspired English title under which the film was distributed was ‘I Sent a Letter to My Love‘.
The story takes place somewhere near Brest, in a house on a cliff on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, which could very well be the setting for a thriller directed by Hitchcock. By the way, I think that the master of suspense would have liked this story. Louise (Simone Signoret) and Gilles Martin (Jean Rochefort) are a sister and brother, 50+ years old, living together. He is disabled since childhood, she dedicated her life to his care. Yvette (Delphine Seyrig), who is their close friend, brings them fresh bread every morning and discusses the day’s news with them. None of the three are married, life almost passed near them, but the flames of their passions are not completely extinguished. When Louise tries to find – using an imaginary identity – a sentimental relationship, using the ads in the newspaper publicity, she is surprised that the one who answers is Gilles. An aparent idyll flourishes in the correspondence between the two, which becomes more and more dangerous, especially after Gilles wants to meet personally the mysterious stranger with whom he had begun to fall in love.
A side comment. This film, made in 1980, is one of those that highlight the huge changes brought about by mobile telephony and the Internet in the way of inter-human communication. The relationship advertising in newspapers, the letters sent in envelopes, the mailboxes (made of tin!) and the ‘post restante’ mail at the post office have almost completely disappeared from our lives in less than a generation. If it were made today, the screenwriters of this film would have to completely rethink these details.
The story works well thanks to the intelligent, sensitive and humanly credible script and the exceptional acting performances. A real storm of feelings develops between the three characters. Behind the appearances of quiet, banal and conventional lives there is friendship, true love, and carnal passion. But nothing is declarative, spoken words do not express feelings, and even the words written under the cover of anonymity do not reveal everything that happens in the depths of souls. The melodramatic part is excellently dosed, and the tension of the relations between the characters sometimes reaches the thriller genre. Simone Signoret and Delphine Seyrig create two of the best roles of the mature periods of their careers. However, they are topped by Jean Rochefort, an actor of great finesse and with a special character and culture, who did not always have the chance to be distributed in roles up to his immense talent. Here he has the opportunity to show everything he can and knows, and he does it masterfully. Director Moshé Mizrahi proves with this film that he was one of the valuable filmmakers of his generation, despite the fact that his filmography, developed on three continents, did not have many peaks. No doubt, ‘Chère inconnue‘ is one of them.