LETTER TO ANNA THE STORY OF JOURNALIST POLITKOVSKAYAS DEATH (Eric Bergkraut, Switzerland). 84 minutes. Subtitled. Tuesday (April 22), 9:30 pm April 24, 4:30 pm, Isabel Bader. Rating: NNN
Anna Politkovskaya was perhaps the highest-profile Russian dissident murdered on President Vladimir Putin’s watch. Director Eric Bergkraut was making a film about her when she was killed. He’s combined that footage with remembrances from family and colleagues for this portrait of the uncompromising journalist.
Distractingly narrated by Susan Sarandon (great actor, but her voice isn’t her strong point), the film is less an investigation of the murder than a love letter to Politkovskaya. Interviewees don’t scruple to blame Putin or his inner circle, but the film would be more compelling if more evidence were laid out.
Her son says he’s less interested in who killed her than in who gave the order. Here’s hoping a future film will answer that question.
