The Letters (film)

Plot

Mother Teresa (Juliet Stevenson), recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, is considered one of the greatest humanitarians 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) 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

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, the Swedish star who has been a favorite of directors ranging from Ingmar Bergman to Martin Scorsese. 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 nuns 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 in February 2014. It was released theatrically in 886 venues on December 4, 2015.

Critical reception

The Letters has received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 29%, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The consensus states: "The Letters tries to honor Mother Teresa with an unstintingly positive portrayal of her life and works, but ends up smothering a fascinating real-life story under a bland hagiography." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 25 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

At the Sedona Film Festival, the film won the Audience Favorite “Best of the Fest” Award, and the International Catholic Film Festival in Rome, where Riead was honored as Best Director and Juliet Stevenson as Best Actress.