Letter from Siberia

tres-bien

Certain defining themes in Marker's work emerge here. For example, Marker briefly comments on the non-objectivity of documentary filmmaking, in the context of the post-war Soviet/capitalist ideological divide. Marker has clearly come to the realization that words offer power to images, but he does not follow this line of reasoning to the extent of his later films. His experiments with animation are quite charming.

Henri de Corinth

Love the ‘non-objectivity’ sequence in the middle of the film, where the same footage is played twice -once against a monologue endorsing communism, and again against a monologue condemning it. Enflaming images with words.

Jason

Marker at his best (as he is here) is an artist of such commitment and vision, so utterly possessed of genius, conducting pure magic w/ verve and ease, that I truly feel like warnings should be attached to his films: beware, prospective viewer! having watched this film you will very likely come to realize that no art you are ever able to create will possess a germ of comparable worth. Bow in reverence.

Karl J. Kipling

Marker is insufferable when he tries to be cute, and that cuteness mars even some of his best films (once or twice in SANS SOLEIL; the goofy punchline of THE LAST BOLSHEVIK). He lays it on thick here. LETTERS FROM SIBERIA is awfully good when it just sticks to those crisp, bright images of Siberia in the mid-50s, but the silly off-topic interludes - animation, advertisement parodies - set my teeth on edge.

Stefan Drees

A great example for Marker's typical kind of making a a self-reflexive film/documentary by combining visuals with every possible verbal or musical commentary.

FilmEdie

3.75 - Marker's willingness to problematize his pursuit (“objectivity isn’t the answer either. It may not distort Siberian realities, but it does isolate them long enough to be appraised and, consequently, distorts them all the same.”) keeps this film relevant, even if its conclusions can be pat (“our irony may be more naive than their enthusiasm”), and its whimsy sometimes lumbering. Still, some moments of grace...

zoerose

A symphony of the great north, Marker's documentary is a Techni-colorful travelogue into a remote land, a window to distant cultures. Under Marker's lens this wasteland, the mighty Russian "mishka", reveals its people, the people of the Arctic, bi-racial, multicultural but with one shared dream; to bring the mammoth into the sunlight, alive. "Her name is Siberia. After that it's straight ahead".

tinderness

Da tauchte es wohl zum ersten Mal auf, daß Marker von einer seiner Reisen einen Brief schrieb und damit einen Videoessay meinte. Auf der Reise Bilder sehen und Eindrücke sammeln, aber gleich darauf Gedanken spinnen entlang von Assoziationen, seien sie rational berechtigt oder nicht. Ein wunderbarer, erster Versuch, mit Stimme und Kamera einen Essay zu malen in einer Art, die Markers Filme so unverwechselbar machen.