The Letter (2012)

Directed by: Kenneth Mercken | 15 minutes | short film, biography, drama, sports | Actors: Aleksandr Lyapin, Sam Louwyck, Ryszek Turbiasz, Aristhar Venes, Georgi Ivanov

In the short film ‘The Letter’ by former cycling champion Kenneth Mercken, a Russian boy moves to Belgium to become the best cyclist of all. However, he ends up in the world of doping and drags his friends into it.

The vague atmospheres of the boys under the influence can be felt very well. The whole movie is disorienting and filmed in many extreme close-ups. ‘The Letter’ also has a kind of rhythm with repetitions, indicated by the images. The voice-over tells, in letter form. It is not very clear who the letter is for. It is also not clear why all those Russians are in Belgium. It gives ‘The Letter’ a kind of dream-like atmosphere, which you will recognize as the moment when you wake up and can only remember fragments of your dream. So is this film, it consists of vague fragments, as if under the influence of the stimulants. The story of ‘The Letter’ also doesn’t have a clear course, it doesn’t really have an end or middle point. This short film is for lovers of alternative films, with beautiful images.