When You Read This Letter
1953 · 107 min · ★ 5.9 · Drama
After a novice nun learns of the sudden death of her parents, she leaves the convent to manage the family business and look after her teenage sister. Both of them fall prey to a womanizing mechanic with psychopathic tendencies.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville · Written by Jacques Deval
Your Rating
Where to Watch
Cast
-
Philippe Lemaire Max Trivet -
Juliette Gréco Thérèse Voise -
Daniel Cauchy Biquet -
Irène Galter Denise Voise -
Yvonne Sanson Irène Faugeret -
Yvonne de Bray Traveler -
Jacques Deval Investigating judge -
Roland Lesaffre Roland -
Colette Régis Superior -
Marcel Delaître Grandfather -
Robert Dalban Dick -
Fernand Sardou Mechanic
Make it a double feature
3h 22m togetherBoth from Jean-Pierre Melville.
More from Jean-Pierre MelvilleSee all →
Army of Shadows · 1969Army of Shadows
★ 7.91969
MovieDramaThriller
Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.
Le Samouraï · 1967Le Samouraï
★ 7.81967
MovieCrimeThriller
After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts, finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armor of fedora and trench coat can protect him.
Belmondo: The Incorrigible · 2022Belmondo: The Incorrigible
★ 7.82022
MovieDocumentary
Charismatic and resourceful, seducer and daredevil, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always played his roles as he lived, at a thousand miles an hour. He had only one passion: to entertain the public with his smile, his naturalness, his energy, his stunts. But contrary to appearances, his destiny was full of pitfalls. This film lifts the veil on a founding childhood that allowed him to overcome many obstacles throughout his life thanks to the tutelary figures of his father and mother. Told from the inside with the help of his autobiography, interviews and unpublished archives, this epic story traces the career of this turbulent young actor who launched the New Wave in Breathless before becoming the popular Bebel, an indestructible and provocative vigilante. From film to film, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who built himself up to reach the top: his triumphs but also his trials, his doubts, his secrets, his angers, his clowning, his disappointments or his personal dramas.
Le Deuxième Souffle · 1966Le Deuxième Souffle
★ 7.71966
MovieActionDrama
A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
Orpheus · 1950Orpheus
★ 7.71950
MovieRomanceFantasy
A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.
Le Cercle Rouge · 1970Le Cercle Rouge
★ 7.61970
MovieCrimeDrama
When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.
Breathless · 1960Breathless
★ 7.51960
MovieDramaCrime
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
The Silence of the Sea · 1949The Silence of the Sea
★ 7.51949
MovieDramaWar
In a small town in WWII France, a German officer is billeted in the house of an elderly man and his niece who resist the occupation by refusing to interact with him, even as he speaks to them candidly about his life and hopes for the future of France and Germany.
Melville, le dernier samouraï · 2020Melville, le dernier samouraï
★ 7.42020
MovieDocumentary
Like nobody else Jean-Pierre Melville influenced modern filmmaking. This documentary follows his creative process step by step, showing him becoming the father of the Nouvelle Vague and one of the most iconic directors of French cinema.
Le Doulos · 1962Le Doulos
★ 7.41962
MovieDramaThriller
Enigmatic gangster Silien may or may not be responsible for informing on Faugel, who was just released from prison and is already involved in what should be a simple heist. By the end of this brutal, twisting, and multilayered policier, who will be left to trust?
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai · 1999Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
★ 7.31999
MovieCrimeDrama
A Black hitman who models after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
Bob le Flambeur · 1956Bob le Flambeur
★ 7.31956
MovieDramaAction
In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.
Léon Morin, Priest · 1961Léon Morin, Priest
★ 7.11961
MovieDramaRomance
Barny, although a Marxist, is intrigued by the mysteries of religion. In confession, she teases a priest, Léon Morin, but he is a young and intelligent man and ready to discuss anything.
Sign of the Lion · 1962Sign of the Lion
★ 7.01962
MovieDrama
An American in Paris lives by sponging off his working friends, and throws a party using borrowed money when his rich American aunt dies, believing firmly in his horoscope.
Le Combat dans l'île · 1962Le Combat dans l'île
★ 6.81962
MovieDramaRomance
The charismatic, surly son of a wealthy industrialist, Clément, leads a double life as a member of a right-wing extremist organization. When he’s ratted out after a failed assassination attempt on a prominent politician, Clément and his long-suffering wife Anne flee Paris to the idyllic country home of his childhood friend, pacifist print-maker Paul. As affection blossoms between Paul and Anne, the emotional, as well as political tensions, soar and eventually explode.
Un Flic · 1972Un Flic
★ 6.61972
MovieCrimeThriller
A Parisian police chief has an affair, but unbeknownst to him, the boyfriend of the woman he’s having an affair with is a bank robber planning a heist.
More Like This
Dangerous Love Affairs · 1959Dangerous Love Affairs
★ 6.51959
MovieDramaRomance
Juliette de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont are a sophisticated couple, always looking for fun and excitement. Both have sexual affairs with others and share their experiences with one another. But when Valmont meets the beautiful young Marianne at a ski resort, he breaks the one rule of his unconventional marriage: never fall in love.
The Song of Bernadette · 1943The Song of Bernadette
★ 7.11943
MovieDrama
In 1858 Lourdes, France, adolescent peasant Bernadette has a vision of "a beautiful lady" in the Massabielle grotto - the townspeople assume this lady to be the Virgin Mary. Pompous government officials think the girl is insane, doing their best to suppress her and her followers, while the church wants nothing to do with the matter. But as Bernadette attracts wider and wider attention, the phenomenon overtakes everyone in the town, ultimately transforming their lives.
Leaving · 2009Leaving
★ 6.02009
MovieDramaRomance
A bourgeois housewife, planning to go back to work as a physiotherapist after having devoted 20 years to her husband and two children, has her comfortable, elegant life turned upside down when she falls for a Spanish builder and begins a runaway affair.
Vagabond · 1985Vagabond
★ 7.41985
MovieDrama
Mona Bergeron is dead, her frozen body found in a ditch in the French countryside. From this, the film flashes back to the weeks leading up to her death. Through these flashbacks, Mona gradually declines as she travels from place to place, taking odd jobs and staying with whomever will offer her a place to sleep. Mona is fiercely independent, craving freedom over comfort, but it is this desire to be free that will eventually lead to her demise.
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison · 1957Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
★ 6.91957
MovieAdventureWar
A Roman Catholic nun and a hard-bitten US Marine are stranded together on a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific during World War II. Under constant threat of discovery by a ruthless enemy, they hide in a cave and forage for food together. Their forced companionship and the struggle for survival forge a powerful emotional bond between them.
The Decameron · 1971The Decameron
★ 6.91971
MovieHistoryDrama
A young Sicilian is swindled twice, but ends up rich; a man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns; a woman must hide her lover when her husband comes home early; a scoundrel fools a priest on his deathbed; three brothers take revenge on their sister's lover; a young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night; a group of painters wait for inspiration; a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife; and two friends make a pact to find out what happens after death.
The Devils · 1971The Devils
★ 7.51971
MovieDramaHistory
In 1634 France, charismatic Father Urbain Grandier becomes the target of a sexually obsessed nun’s witchcraft accusations, which corrupt church and state officials are all too happy to exploit.
Phantom · 1922Phantom
★ 6.91922
MovieDramaRomance
Lorenz Lubota is a city clerk with no direction in life. One day on his way to work he is run over by a woman driving a chariot and he is immediately infatuated with her.
The Old Gun · 1975The Old Gun
★ 7.51975
MovieDramaHistory
In Montauban in 1944, Julien Dandieu is a surgeon in the local hospital. Frightened by the German army entering Montauban, he asks his friend Francois to drive his wife and his daughter in the back country village where Julien has an old castle. One week later, Julien decides to meet them for the week end, but the Germans are already occupying the village.
My Father's Glory · 1990My Father's Glory
★ 7.31990
MovieAdventureDrama
Raised by his science teacher father, Joseph Pagnol, and seamstress mother Augustine, young Marcel grows up during the turn of the century in awe of his rationalist dad. When the family takes a summer vacation in the countryside, Marcel becomes friends with Lili, who teaches him about rural life.
